Undertow
by blackbirdintegrity
Summary: Hotch & Emily are best friends, but they both know they want something more. With all the struggles they will go through, and all that they're still fighting through, will love be enough?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is set between S3 and S4. I've also added another character, which is Maya, Hotch and Haley's daughter. Anyway, this is my very first time writing a CM fanfic so I'm kinda freaking out. I hope you guys will like it. Also, English is not my primary language, so I apologize in advanced for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Please do not hesitate to correct me kindly on them. Thank you!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS.**

"C'mon kids! We gotta go! Mom's waiting." Hotch shouted from the kitchen. After spending Saturday with his kids, he got called for an urgent case. _3 dead women in Oregon in two weeks and two are still missing._ Sometimes he really questions taking this job, especially when it takes away time for his kids. This is what led them to the divorce after all. But hey, such is his life, and he'll never trade it for anything if it meant making a safer place, not just for his children, but for everybody else's too.

"Ready dad!" Four year-old Jack shouted as he comes out of his room. He's always so enthusiastic, always so happy. He was followed by his older sister, 9 year-old Maya. Unlike Jack, however, the idea of going back to her mother after only spending one day with her dad didn't quite settle well with her.

Hotch thinks there's suddenly something so different about her daughter. It doesn't take a professional profiler to point a change in your kid's behavior after all. However, he still cannot pin-point what it was.

"Ready, Maya?" He asked her, but she only gave a sad nod.

Hotch knelt down in front of her. They've had this talk a million times, and his daughter is very smart. She understands that her dad has to travel away because people do bad things in different places. She understands that because of this, mom and dad would always argue and had to go separate ways. She understands that no matter where he goes or how long he's away, dad would always come back home. However, Hotch would not ever hesitate to explain it to her over and over again.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" He asked. But Maya knows that telling him would only cause him so much time. And he doesn't have that right now. So, she shakes her head and hugs him instead. "Be safe, dad."

He smiles at her daughter, always full of compassion and understanding. "I will. And I will always come back home to you guys. Remember that."

The drive back to Hailey's was uneventful. But when he dropped them off in front of their mother's house where Hailey was waiting, he could see the hesitation in his daughter's eyes. The fact that he cannot deal with it and talk to her about it burns him from the inside out.

/

 _"Hotch"_

"Hotch" Emily called again, this time putting her hand on his forearm. They were sitting next to each other on the jet, debriefing the case with the rest of team before they land.

He snapped out of his thoughts. "What was that? Sorry." Everyone was surprised. Aaron Hotchner – _The Aaron Hotchner_ \- has zoned out. A first-time in the history of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.

"We were waiting for your input." JJ finally answered.

"Right." Hotch then told them where to disperse once they land.

"Hey. You good?" He heard Emily ask. _God bless Emily Prentiss._ He doesn't exactly know when it started, but he and Emily are very close. He considers her his best friend, and Emily considers him as his best friend. It was a slow and gradual process, really. When she first joined the team, he didn't exactly hate her, but he didn't like her either. As for Emily, just the fact the assuming man in front of her thought that she pulled strings to get to the BAU was enough for her to hate him at first sight. This, however, just made Emily more determined to prove to him that she deserves this – she deserves to be a part of his team, and she succeeded in that.

From then on, Hotch was continually impressed with her, not just on the field but just as Emily, a normal person. It started with coffee. It was shortly after his divorce. Emily could see that he was burying himself more and more into his work. She never even saw him take on break. As a human, she felt morally obligated to somehow take him back to earth, even just for that day. That was when she bravely asked him to join her for coffee out.

 _"Hey" she called from the doorway of his office._

 _"Hey. Come in." He said not even looking away from the files on his desk._

 _"Let's go get some coffee."_

 _"I can't."_

 _"That wasn't a question." She snapped, looking at him sternly, and boy did he give her a scarier look. It was a hard staring contest for a few seconds until Emily gave up. "Look, Hotch. I am not going to delve in your personal life. I'm not gonna ask you to talk about. I'm not even gonna ask you to talk at all if you don't feel like it. All I'm asking is for you to take a few minutes for a break. God knows when the last you've eaten. And if you get sick, if we ever find you in a hospital, sick because you've neglected yourself, I'm going to kill you, then Garcia's going to kill you, then JJ, then Reid, then Morgan, then Rossi. Maybe even Strauss."_

 _He knew that he was starting to lose it. Heck, everybody knew, but nobody was brave enough to say a word. Except for Emily, because… Well, she's Emily. If there's a more stubborn person than him, it's probably her._

 _"So? Last chance, bud."_

 _All Hotch could do was close the folder in front of him, sigh in defeat, and stand up from his office chair. Emily, though, was grinning in victory, and he remembers thinking that it was one of the most beautiful smiles he's ever seen._

"Yeah. I'm good. I just want to close this case immediately." He said dismissively. She knows he's probably pissed because his weekend with his children was cut short. Hell, even she was pissed. They were supposed to spend Sunday afternoon at the park – just her, Hotch, and the kids. They were supposed to have a good day.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. He looked at her and knew exactly what she meant. They don't even need words for them to know what the other wants to say. They're good like that. They're close like that.

Once they landed, the team immediately dispersed to their assigned posts- Hotch & JJ at the station, Reid and Dave at the latest crime scene, while Emily and Derek went to interview their lone witness at his house. As the day went by, they were not even close to getting this case solved, and if their timeline is right, another body would turn up in 48 hours. They can't afford that. But Hotch also knows that everyone his team was already dragging, and they won't be productive if they're dragging.

"We're obviously not getting anywhere tonight. Let's settle in for the night. I need everybody at 100% tomorrow." Of course, everybody agreed. But they all know nobody will be getting a full night's rest with this horrible case in their mind. So they drove two separate SUV's to the hotel and settled in. After saying their good night's, they all went to their rooms, ready to catch some shut eye.

Emily, however, had a different plan. Once she checked the coast clear, she went to Hotch's door and knocked. He's not even surprised, he knows it's Emily. They've done this a number of times – sleep together that is. Hey, they're bestfriends. There's nothing awkward or sexual about it, they were just two adults finding comfort in one another. So he opened the door to let her in.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"Eh." She shrugged while locking his door. He looked at her with amused eyes and a chuckle.

"What? I haven't seen you in 3 days and I needed a cuddle." She explained with a pout, which she knows was Hotch's weakness.

He laughed at her look. Although, he must admit, it really is adorable and it does get him. _Oh boy._ "Just get in the damn bed, Emily, before you kill someone with that pout." As usual, Emily grinned in victory and climb into the bed beside him.

Once they were settled – her body curled around him with her face buried on crook of his neck and his arms wrapped around her- he feels Emily start to relax as his hand was lazily tracing her back, and this makes him relax too. Really, other than his kids, she is currently the most important person in his life. Is he in love with her? He doesn't really know yet, but when thinks about it, it's not a totally absurd idea. For now though, he is content with what they have.

The rest of the team noticed their closeness too. Of course they have. But they also know that both have deeper feeling for each and it drives them nuts how Hotch and Emily seem to ignore it. It's rather obvious, even to someone who is not a profiler. When Hotch seems so tense, it is Emily who can calm him down. It is Emily who persuades him to take a break, or to join them in night-outs and enjoy a little. It is Emily who can knock some sense into him when he's being irrational. Aside from Maya and Jack, it is only Emily who can break his stoic face and make him smile in a snap. It's Emily. It's always been Emily.

For Hotch, though, he's aware. He knows the effect Emily has on him. He knows everything she's done for him, and he will be eternally grateful. He doesn't even know what he did to deserve her in his life. However, there's a part of him that's afraid that if they take it any further, they might lose this beautiful thing that they have. He just doesn't want to upset the applecart, as they would say. But he's not letting her go. Definitely not letting her go.

As he was lost in thought, he heard Emily mumble something. "What was that, Em?" He asked, looking down at her. However, he only chuckled when he realized she was just talking in her sleep. He ignored it, but after a short while, Emily said something again. _"I really want the chocolate mousse, Aaron."_ He smiled at her. He really did love her quirks. So, he kissed her forehead and whispered "I'll get you some tomorrow, Em. Good night."


	2. Chapter 2

"Thank you for coming in, Agent Hotchner. I know how busy you are." The nice lady said. Mrs. Evan is Maya's homeroom teacher.

"Thank you for fitting me in. I apologize for missing the actual parent-teacher meeting." He said. Hailey was the one who's supposed to attend but she called him and she said she won't make it. She didn't tell him why, and he didn't push. In fact, he didn't really care. So, he said yes. However, they were called out for a case in Idaho during the actual date of the meeting. Hence, this morning appointment with Mrs. Evans before he heads to Quantico.

"Maya is an exceptional student- very smart, very inquisitive…"

 _"Of course she is, she's my daughter."_ He thought. Maya truly is smart. For a 9 year-old, she's already fluent in three languages other than English, and she's working on her fourth. She plays the violin and piano by ear. She's very advanced in math and science, literature, and probably knows every fact in History. She almost made it to the Scripp's National Spelling Bee last year, and made a vow to come back do better in the next year. She has a memory that's almost as comparable to Reid. In other words, she's a prodigy, a child genius if he says so himself. This is the reason why Maya is enrolled in this school, one of the most prestigious private schools in the US. They have a competitive environment since they only accept the best students in the country.

"Her grades are very consistent. Actually, here is one of her essays in her creative writing class." She said, handing a 5-page handwritten essay. Hotch read the title and a smile played across his lips, _The Modern Maria Clara._ "The instruction was to write an essay on their thoughts about sexism. Maya managed to write a 5-page persuasive essay on why absurd school dress codes is, and I quote, 'the sexism on the young.'" Hotch couldn't help but laugh. _"That's my girl."_ He thought.

"Agent Hotchner, if you don't mind me asking, are there any troubles at your home recently?"

Hotch's head snapped to look at her instantly in confusion. "I am aware of your arrangements with your ex-wife, but has Maya been in any trouble in either homes lately?"

"Not that I know of. I mean, when she's with me she's perfectly fine. Is there any problem?"

"Well, we've noticed a sudden remarkable change in her behavior lately."

"What do you mean?"

"For one, she seemed to be very timid, very distant. She doesn't seem to socialize with other kids anymore. While it is not affecting her studies, there could something else that's bothering her. I found her one time in the library, crying silently in the corner. When I asked her what was wrong she just shook her head and wiped her tears. I've monitored her since then, thinking that a student might be bullying her, but there's none. Everyone's her friend here, but she just seems to pull away. Definitely not the Maya that we've known."

 _Huh._ Worry and confusion immediately filled his mind. "I honestly do not have any idea. I don't even know that this is happening. When she stays with me, she's just the normal Maya, and neither she nor her mother have mentioned anything. I will get to the bottom of it. Thank you for relaying it to me." He said and quickly shook the teacher's hand.

"Of course, Agent Hotchner. Rest assured that we will update you regarding your daughter's behavior. Thanks again for coming."

As Hotch was driving to Quantico, he couldn't help the worry and confusion that filled his mind. What could possibly be bothering his 9-year old? The last time he checked, she's still the normal, smart but sweet child with an infectious laugh. He's very protective of his kids, and whatever the hell is upsetting her daughter, he will not stop until he gets to the bottom of it.

Emily and the rest of the team was intently working on their files in the bullpen. It's a slow day and even if none of them says it loudly, they're all wishing that it'd be over already. It's Friday and Hotch's request that his team be on stand-down this weekend was granted. Hence, everyone on the team was excited and eager to end the day.

Emily was a little startled when her phone beep on her desk, as she was intently focusing on a file she's working on.

 _Stay over tonight?_ She smiled reading the text from Hotch.

 _Miss me already? You can look out your office window you know, and then you'll see my lovely self._

 _Yeah right, smart ass. So?_

 _Don't you have the kids tonight?_

Even until now, Emily is still very cautious of Hotch's time with his kids. While she'd love to spend the weekend with him, she knows that it's his time with the kids too and she'd never want to intrude. For Hotch, however, this is not a disturbance or whatsoever. Time with his kids doesn't mean less time with his best friend. He just really wanted to spend the weekend with the most important people in his life.

 _I do. But that doesn't mean I can't hang out with you, right? Besides, they like having you around._

 _Okay then. I shall bunk with the Hotchner bears tonight._

Hotch couldn't help the smile that played on his lips. God help him with this woman.

/

It's a laid-back Friday at the Hotchner's – Hotch was making a light avocado, cucumber and tomato salad while they wait for pizza; he also sent Maya and Jack to the living room to pick out a movie they want to watch or maybe a board game they want to play after dinner. They were also waiting for Emily who had to stop by her apartment to refill her go-bag with fresh clothes. She has clothes in Hotch's house, and while she knows they're on stand-down this weekend, she insisted to doing it just in case. Hotch, of course, could not object, because: one, she's Emily, and two, he would've done the same if he was staying at her house for the weekend.

As Hotch was working in the kitchen, he was also observing Maya. She's on the floor with Jack, looking through their huge DVD collection. However, Jack was the only who was going through it and Maya just seem to be watching him. Jack would ask Maya, "How about this?" or "What do you think of this one?" But Maya would only say "That is a nice pick" or "The sounds fun." While on any other day she would've fought tooth and nail if she wanted a specific movie.

Hotch also did not forget what happened a while ago. He asked them which kind of pizza they would like to have. Maya only likes thin-crust margherita pizza, but she can tolerate other flavors too. However, when Jack loudly said he wanted half pepperoni and half four-cheese, Maya didn't object and only said, "I'll just have whatever Jack wants." Again, very unlike her. However, Hotch still made sure to order a personal size margherita pizza for her because he knows there's no way in hell she would eat what they ordered.

He was just finishing the salad when the doorbell rang. Emily has a key so he was sure it's the pizza. To his surprise, however, Emily was standing there in his doorstep. "Em! Why didn't you use your key?" He asked, stepping aside to let her in.

"I didn't want to make them uncomfortable by just barging in." She whispered.

He chuckled and gave her a hug. "Please, they're comfortable with you."

"Dad, is that the pizza?" He heard Jack ask from the living room.

"No. Someone better." He said. "Emmy!" Immediately Jack came running because he knows who it is. However, he also accidently tipped over his cup of apple juice that was on the edge of the coffee table, causing it to spill.

Hotch could not miss the horrified look on his daughter's face. It's almost as if she's the one in trouble, like it's her fault. Maya then immediately ran to the kitchen to get a rug to wipe of the mess on the coffee table which was now dripping to the carpet.

Emily hugged Jack but she did not also miss what happened. "What took you so long, Emmy?" Jack asked with those round curious eyes that she adores.

"Well, I had to stop by my house to get some clothes. I'm hoping some three nice bears would let me bunk with them for the night."

Jack's face brightened up at this. "You're sleeping over? Really really?"

"Really really, but only if you want me to." She said and gave Jack a little tickle.

He laughed and said, "of course, I want you to."

Jack and Emily proceeded to the living room where Hotch and Maya were cleaning up the spilled juice. However, Maya kept apologizing with a shaky voice and watery eyes.

"I'm sorry, Dad. Please, let me clean it up. I'll get the stain out too, I promise."

Hotch eyed Emily, who also seemed confuse at the young girl's behavior. So she decided to leave the room for a while.

"Hey, Jack. Wanna go help me set the table? Dad says you're a good helper."

"Yes, yes! C'mon, Emily!" He all but tugged Emily to the kitchen which earned a laugh from the brunette woman.

Meanwhile, Hotch was trying to calm his daughter down. Also, he is hopeful to finally figure out what's going with her. "Maya. Sweetie, it's alright. It's not your fault." He gently said to her, holding her hand that was frantically wiping the carpet. Maya just looked at him and he could see the fear in her eyes.

He pulled her and made her sit on the couch facing him. "Hey" He whispered, trying to comfort the little girl. "You're not in trouble, okay? I'm not mad. There is no reason for me to get mad because you've done nothing wrong, do you understand?" The little girl just nodded her head and then hugged her father. Their moment was interrupted by the ring of the doorbell.

It was indeed a fun night at the Hotchner household. They had a lovely dinner, and it was relief for Hotch to see his daughter smile when she found out he'd gotten her favorite pizza too. He had to scold her a little when noticed she was eating too fast, like she hasn't eaten anything in days, like her food will be taken away if she blinks. They also had a lovely time watching _The Rescuers,_ which Jack insisted on watching even though they've seen it a million times. They also played Candyland for a little while, in which the adults were letting the kids win all throughout. When it was time for bed, Jack requested Emily to read to him, and of course, who could deny the adorable face of Jack Hotchner. This also gave Hotch the opportunity to talk to his daughter.

"Did you have fun tonight?" He asked her. Maya was sitting on her bed while her dad was facing her sitting on the bed too.

"Yes. I wish I could stay here every day" She said with a smile that made Hotch's heart leap and break at the same time. God knows he also wants his kids here every day.

"So, I talked to your teacher the other day. She said your grades are very consistent. I'm so proud of you, always."

"Thanks, dad."

"But she also said you seem very troubled at school, and that you cried one time." Upon saying this, Maya immediately looked down and fidgeted with her blanket. He's actually scared. It's her tell. There is something bothering his daughter and she's not about to tell him what it is.

"Maya, look at me." He said, using a slightly stern voice, and the girl complied. Maya is instantly terrified because she knows this tone and she knows she's not supposed to lie to him. But she also knows it would cause more trouble if she tells him. "What's upsetting you? Is there a kid being mean to you?" To his disappointment, she only shook her head.

"Are you scared of someone? Are you in trouble with your mom?" At the mention of this, Maya's tears fell. However, she still hasn't spoken a word. "Maya, please tell me what's wrong. I can make it all better, sweetie."

The little girl just continued to cry, angrily wiping her tears with her hands. "Please, don't ask me, dad. I don't want to lie to you, so please don't ask me. Everything will be okay. I can handle it."

"Maya, I will not be very happy if you don't tell me what's going on right now." He insisted with his stern _Hotch_ voice that he doesn't really use with his kids. But this might as well be an exception. However, he didn't get any more word from the girl. Instead, she lied down on her bed and covered herself with the blanket, turning away from the blanket. "Good night, dad. I love you." She said, muffled by her pillow. And knows better than to push the subject even more. So he resigned, but he's not letting it go.

"I love you, too. Always. And I know you're strong and you like to deal with things on your own, but you don't have to do it all the time, you know. If you can't handle it anymore, I'm here, whatever it is. Good night, sweetie."

Later that night, as they were cuddling in his bed, Emily could feel that something is wrong. "Is Maya okay?" She asked, her voice muffled by his shirt as she lays her head on his chest.

He sighed, "I don't know. I talked to her teacher and she said that Maya has been really distant lately. She was crying for no reason. And you've seen her today, she seemed over-compliant. When I asked her, she shut me off. I can feel something is wrong and I want to make it better. I want to fix it. But I don't even know what _it_ is."

Emily can feel the anger and frustration in his voice, and it saddens her too that she can't do anything. Not that she won't try. "I don't think I have the right words to comfort you right now, and I really wish I do. But you also have to trust Maya on this. She's growing up and part of it is wanting to deal things on her own. And c'mon, she's your daughter, are you still wondering where she gets it from?"

Hotch snorted at her. She always knows what to say. "Your presence is comfort enough." He whispered to her. Maybe he needs to let it go, just for tonight.

He felt Emily fall asleep as her breathing evens out. _Oh Emily_. Maybe someday he can call her _his._


	3. Chapter 3

_Kids are out like a light. Although Jack made me read 3 stories tonight._

Hotch smirked as he read the text message. That's definitely his Jack. It should've been a great Sunday, but then again, he was called for an emergency meeting – bombing in a club in Michigan. On any other day this would've been acceptable, but this is just absurd. He's sitting in this conference room for 6 hours already, and the director is nowhere near in the dismissing this meeting. He misses his kids and he misses Emily. He also made a mental note to file for a one week paid leave for him and the entire team. They deserve it.

 _Thank you for everything. I'll try to see if we can wrap this up in 10 minutes. Miss you._

Emily sighed at his message. She saw how his face fell when he received the call about the meeting. Sometimes she wishes that their job doesn't have to take so much from them, but it is what it is. The kids were also not pleased to see their dad go, and it was just heartbreaking to see their sad faces. It also sucked for her personally. They rarely get the weekend off and this is what they get.

 _Fingers crossed. Miss you too._

Since there is actually no one to have fun with, Emily decided to just watch tv on a really low volume and sulk on the couch with her glass of wine. Luckily she found re-runs of Gilmore Girls. She used to love this show. As she settles on the couch, she just prayed that Hotch can make it soon. Maybe they can salvage what is left of their day.

"Emily?" A tiny trembling voice that called her name snapped Emily out from her trance. She sat up and turned to see little Maya, still in her pajamas and clutching Cuppy the rabbit in her hand.

"Maya, come here, sweetie." She said gently and the little girl walked to her. She pulled Maya on her lap and hugged her tightly. "What's the matter?" But Maya stayed silent and just snuggled with her.

"Did you have a bad dream?" She coaxed, and eventually the young girl nodded.

"Is daddy going to give me away?" Maya asked, still hiding her face on Emily's chest. Now, the thing is, Emily is with amazing kids. It's exactly the reason why Hotch entrusts her with Maya and Jack on emergencies, and why the kids also love her. Even Hotch thinks that she should have her own kids, because she'd be an amazing mother. However, no matter how good she is, even at reading their behavior, nothing prepares her for heartbreaking questions like this.

"What do you mean? Daddy's not going to give you away. Ever."

"But mommy said she's going to give me away because they don't want me anymore."

 _Is it just in the dream? Was this her dream? Her parents giving her away? But it must be triggered by something in the waking life. What is that woman telling her kid?_

She lifted Maya's face so she can look at her, and _good lord_ did her heart break at those beautiful eyes reddened with sadness. "Sweetie, it's just a dream, okay? It's not real. No one's going to give you away because your home is right here. Your mom and dad, they love you very much. I love you. You're not going anywhere, okay?"

"But it wasn't a dream! You don't understand! I don't want to go away! It wasn't a dream!" Maya went ballistic. She was now sobbing violently on Emily shoulders.

"Okay. Okay, Maya. Calm down. It's okay. Shhhh. It's okay." Emily shushed the little girl. Her tiny body trembling against hers. She carried her back to her room and cuddled her, trying to comfort her young mind. Eventually, Maya stopped crying and was relax enough to fall asleep again. But before she did, she murmured something, "I wish I didn't have to leave." Emily sighed. She already had a hunch of what's going on with Maya. But she's not sure if she should open it with Hotch. Come to think of it, it's technically none of her business. Then again, a part of her feels that she should because a child breaking down in front of you is reason enough to make it your business.

/

Hotch sighed as he opened the door of his apartment. That meeting sucked 40 years out of his life. Ten minutes more and he was sure he could've strangled the director. Hell, he could've strangled him before the meeting started. But now, he's putting his go-bag on the floor, the keys on the bowl, and his coat on the rack. Now he's home and he's tired and hungry. It also didn't surprise him to find no one in the living room. The kids probably tired Emily out.

Speaking of Emily, he owes her. As in he owes her big time, not just for this, but for everything that she does. It already seems impossible to repay her. She's gone out of her way to help him and the kids. However, he does have some ideas in his mind. It's nothing compared to what Emily does for him, but he's sure that she's going to love it. And it's going to start with the Annual Governor's Ball, where the entire team is invited because apparently the State loves them. While it is already implicated that he and Emily will go together, he thought it'd be more special for her if he officially asks her to be his date to the ball.

So he went to find the lady in question. But first, he went to Jack's room. He smiled at his son comfortably snuggled in his blanket. He gave him a kiss on the forehead and whispered good night. He then went to Maya's room, and he stopped at the doorway at the image in front of him. Maya and Emily are sound asleep, snuggled together in Maya's bed. As he got close to them, he could see the peacefulness on their faces. As much as he hate to wake Emily up, he bets his ass that she's gonna get mad if he didn't and she wakes up sore in the morning. So he knelt down beside the bed and kissed her forehead.

"Emily, wake up." He didn't even have to wait long for her eyes to open.

"Hi" She whispered after blinking a couple of times to see the person hovering her clearly.

"Hi" He helped her up, careful not to wake up the sleeping girl.

"She, uhm, she had a bad dream and was crying so…"

He nodded at her before giving Maya a good night kiss.

"Do you want to eat? We still have some Chinese food from dinner. And honestly, I didn't eat much because I didn't want to eat without you." She said the last sentence softly with her head down.

He smiled at her then. She's always the sweetest. Definitely different from the Prentiss of BAU. "Thank you." He said and kissed her cheek.

Emily put the last of the Chinese food in the microwave to heat it up. She's also decided that she needs to talk to Hotch now. So while they're eating, she opened up the conversation.

"I need to tell you something." She said quietly, as if she might get in trouble.

"What is it?"

"Uhmm… Maya. She was crying and saying that she doesn't want to go away."

He suddenly stops eating and snapped his up to look at Emily who already looks so scared and hesitant. "Did you know what she means?"

"I uhhh I told her that she's not going anywhere, but then she cried violently, saying that Haley said to her she'll be given away because she's not wanted here anymore, not even you."

Hotch was speechless, and Emily waited for a while. But when he didn't say a word, she took that opportunity.

"Aaron, I am in no way accusing Haley of anything, and I know it's not even my business, but what if -"

"It's textbook abuse." Hotch finished her thought for her. "That explains the change in her behavior." He started pacing back and forth. "Why did I not see this earlier?" "Maybe I did but I just ignored it."

Emily stood up and held his shoulders to stop him from pacing. "I need to get them out of there." He said, the desperation evident in his voice.

"Look, Aaron, we're not even sure what is actually happening. We don't have any evidence."

"Then what?! You expect me to just sit here and wait until my kid shows here with bruises?!"

Emily literally took a step back, retracting from him. She's never seen him this furious, and it honestly is scary. Seeing this. Hotch cursed himself for what he'd done.

"I'm sorry. I just…" He sighed.

"I know." She hugged him then. Trying to somehow calm him down. "Look, we both know how the system works. They won't take it seriously, no matter who you are, if we do not have any concrete evidence."

He nodded. "And you can't just confront Haley about it." She added. His eyes narrowed on her.

"Aaron, the kids will be going home to her tomorrow and you won't see them until the next weekend. If you do as much as asking her about it, she might snap at them. And _god knows_ what she will do. Are you getting me?"

"I do." He sighed and sat down. He had to sit down. "But, I can't just not do anything."

Emily huffed and shook her head in disbelief. She scooted down, and brought her hand to his chin to make him face her. She then looked intensely in his eyes. "You are not Aaron Hotchner for nothing." Hotch sees the fight in her eyes, it's scary and sexy at the same time. "Fight for them, Aaron. Get them back."

Hotch swear, _he swears_ , he could kiss her right at this moment. The Lord has blessed him great self-control and for that he's very thankful. She's right though. While it is not healthy for the kids to have them go through another custody battle, he has to fight for them. He has to get them away from her before it's too late.

The next morning, everyone was busy getting ready for the day. Hotch was starting breakfast while Emily is getting ready in the bedroom. The kids are also busy getting ready for school. Maya was the first one to enter the kitchen.

"Hey, dad!" she cheerfully greeted the man making pancakes.

Hotch turned to look at her. She looked like she's feeling a little better, at least he hoped she does. "Hey! Good morning. Pancakes?"

"Yes, please. Just one though."

"Nuh-uh. You need to get some food in you, young lady. So, two pancakes and some eggs." He said and placed the food in front of her.

"Thanks, dad."

Soon, Jack and Emily joined them for breakfast. Without telling each other, they both know they're observing the kids even more closely from now on.

While they were waiting for Jack to get his things ready, Hotch called Maya into the living room. He knows that what he's about to give her was not ideal for a 9-year old. But his daughter is wise beyond her age and he knows that it wouldn't be a distraction to her. In fact, he only has one thing in mind when he decided to do this. Seeing her dad and Emily sitting on the couch, Maya sensed that she could in trouble. Probably about the _tantrum_ she threw last night.

"I'm sorry for crying last night and disturbing you, Emily. It will not happen again." She immediately said, hands clasped in front of her and her head hanging down. Hotch and Emily looked at each other. Maybe this is something deeper than what they've anticipated.

Emily took the little girl's hand and pulled her into a hug. "No, sweet girl. Don't ever apologize for that, "and gave her a kiss on the head.

"Maya, I'm going to give you this." Hotch said, handing the cellphone to her. The confusion was apparent on her face. "Come here," making her stand in front of him and look him in the eyes, holding her hands, "I need you to listen very carefully, okay? As much as I would love for you and Jack to stay here, you can't. At least not right now. I understand everything that's happening and I am doing everything in my power to keep you both with me. I promise you that."

"Dad, please don't tell her. I can handle it, I swear." Maya said quietly.

"I know, sweetie. You're a tough girl. But I just can't let it happen all the time. This isn't right. I promise, I'll get you out of there. Just… just hold on a little longer, okay?" She nodded, holding on to his promise.

"In the meantime, that phone has my number and Emily's number on it. Plus everyone on my team. If you need help or anything at all, call me or any one of us. Do we have a deal?" Hotch continued.

Maya nodded, "yeah. We do. Thanks, dad."

Emily could see how heartbroken her best friend is. _Why is this happening to them?_ Yes, Hotch had his shortcomings as a husband. Society may have judged him for choosing his work over his marriage. But it is undeniably true that he is an amazing father. He is very devoted to his kids and would always give them the best. Society can't judge him for that. They cannot use his job against him and say that he chose his job over his children because there is no truth to that. Those who really know him knows that he is willing to drop everything for his children.

They drove off and dropped Jack at his preschool. "Bye, dad! Bye, Emmy!" The little boy said before giving them a hug. "Have a great day, buddy. I love you."

"Love you too!" They watched as he ran to his teacher at the entrance of the school, hoping this is a good day for him.

Then it was Maya's turn to be dropped off at her school. With a sigh, the little girl undid her seatbelt and gave her dad and Emily a kiss good bye. To her surprise though, Emily also got off the front seat. Once the both of them were out of the car, Emily knelt so she's at the same level as Maya. She then gently took Maya's hand in hers. "Hey, everything's going to be okay, I promise. Your dad is fighting to keep you both. Just hang in there, okay?" Maya nodded, "Okay."

"I know you're brave, but if you're ever scared or just want someone to talk to or if it gets too much, _do not_ hesitate to call. I can't emphasize that enough."

Maya shook her head, "I know how dad can be, I don't want mom to get in trouble because of me." She said quietly.

"You have a good heart, Maya. But none of this is your fault. Please, believe that."

Maya nodded and hugged her, which took Emily by surprise, but did not hesitate to hug her back. "Thank you, Emmy."

"Always, sweetie. Always." She pulled back and added, "Now go. I don't wanna ruin your perfect attendance record."

"Bye, Emmy!" Hearing the little girl call her _Emmy_ again gave Emily some comfort, because she knows that was Maya's endearment to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews, follows and favorites on this story! I appreciate them all and it makes me so happy knowing that there actually other people reading this. Lol. Thanks again guys!**

"So there's that Governor's Ball again next week." JJ said, her tone sounded like attending the event has been an annual chore for them. "I mean, not that I don't like getting to dress up and be all pretty but socializing with those kind of people can be tiring."

Emily huffed, "Amen, sister. Amen. I might bail out this year." The team is gathered around the bullpen, including Garcia who has come out of her lair to hang out with them on a slow day at the BAU. It is the last hour of their work day and they're just literally waiting for the clock to strike 5.

"What do you mean you're bailing out? You can't! It's the State. The State loves us!" Penelope exclaimed. "We'll probably go to jail if they don't see our faces there." She added, somewhat defeated. Her friends were right. This has become a yearly chore for them rather than an exciting event that they should look forward too. Politics is not something that they do very well.

"C'mon, guys. Lighten up! We'll just spend an hour raiding the mobile bar and profiling all these fake people. It should be fun. I mean, last year wasn't so bad, right?" Derek piped up.

"It wasn't for you! You get to spend the night hitting on all these women who are probably hiding their marriage bands at home." Emily said.

"What can I say? The women loves Derek Morgan." He said, flexing his muscles on one arm. The rest of the team all but gave a look of disbelief.

When the clock struck 5, everyone scrambled to get out of the building, as if they'd get locked in if they don't hustle out of there. Emily, however, made a stop to Hotch's office. She knows he's planning to stay late in there like he always does. On some days, she could get him out as early 5:30PM. Those are the good days, the light ones where the reports could wait, where there is no pressure from the higher ups to submit them like college students on deadline. Then there are also days like this, where Hotch would bask in nothing but paperwork until he doesn't realize it's midnight. There is no pressure, no deadlines, it's just him. It's the way he is, the way he's known life. Emily lets him, although not all the time. It's who he is and she knows she can't change that, she can't take that away from him. She understands that unlike most of them, Hotch has no one to go home to during the weekdays. It's not like she has someone too. But unlike Hotch, Emily knows how to spend her time alone on things like cooking, watching tv, or reading a book. Hotch doesn't do that. His apartment is merely a place for him to sleep and shower.

She knocked on his office door and waited for him to say "enter" before she popped in. "Hey, everyone headed out. You staying in?"

Hotch smiled immediately at the sight of her. She always seem to put him in a good mood. "Uhm yeah, I wanted to finish these."

"Okay then. Well, seeing that I won't be successful in tempting you to a movie night in my comfy couch, I guess I'll go home then. Good night, Hotch."

Hotch shook his head, greatly entertained at what Emily was trying to do. _Oh lord_. How can he resist her? How can anyone resist her? Before she could fully turn away from him, he grabbed her hand, "Em."

She just looked at him, waiting for his answer, which hopefully was in her favor. "6:30 sharp. Chinese?"

Emily grinned in victory, "Yes, please. You're the best!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek and swayed her hips out of his office. Sometimes, he just wanted to say _fuck the rules_.

Later that night, after devouring an unhealthy amount of Chinese food, they are settled on the couch with each a bowl of ice cream while watching _Saving Private Ryan_. It's one of Hotch's favorite, but that's a secret between him and Emily. Emily though thinks it's adorable, but she does not need to say that out loud, especially in front of him.

It was late when the final credits started rolling, and Hotch could tell that Emily was already half asleep. "Hey, why don't you go get ready for bed and I'll clean this up."

"But-"

"No. No arguments. You're ready to pass out. Go." He stated, but the look in her eyes was telling him something else. His softened even more at her. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying, okay? So, go get in bed while I finish down here." That earned him a smile from her, although a tired one. But he'll take it.

Once making sure the dirty dishes are washed and put away and the locks are in place and alarm in set, he finally headed upstairs, ready to join Emily. She was just finishing up her night routine when he got there. _Women._ When she was done and settled on the bed, it his turn to shower. Obviously his night routine is way much shorter than hers, so he joined her in bed in record time.

Seeing that Emily was about to pass out, he debated if he should ask her now. He'd been thinking about it and it's actually part of the reason why he was here. But he finally decided that he should just do it now because they might not get another quiet night before the Ball. Psychopaths around the US don't really like to give their yearly schedule of attack.

"So, the Ball is next week." Hotch started, still sitting up on the bed with Emily who was engrossed on her phone.

"Hm. It is." She said, without even looking up at him. He noticed this and cursed himself mentally. Not a good start. Why was he hesitant anyway? It's Emily, of course she'll say yes.

"Would you like to go with me?" _Really, Hotchner, that's the best you can do?_ He thought to himself.

This caught Emily's attention though, and finally her head snapped up to look at him. "Go with you as in…"

"As in, would you like to be my date at the Ball?"

Emily's mouth dropped open. _A date_. Huh. Nobody has ever asked her to be their date on anything. It was usually just implied, like when she's dating some guy. And here was Hotch, _bless his heart,_ being the gentleman that he is and asking her to go with him. _As a date._ Scratch her plan to bail out. Part of the reason she didn't want to go anyway was because she didn't want to go alone, because if she did, gross and ugly politician men would start to hit on her. She's had enough of those, thank you very much. But now this amazing man beside just asked her to be his date and suddenly everything's good in the world.

"That didn't go well. I'm sorry. You deserved better than that." He quickly said after seeing the conflict in her eyes. Actually, it was not really a conflict. He couldn't just decipher what it was. He couldn't read her expression and he hated it.

But Emily was quick to shake her head. "No, don't apologize. And yes, I would love to be your date at the Ball." She said with a smile. A smile that he's never seen before, and he was definitely in awe of her beauty. He could kiss her right then and there. But they're not there yet. He does want to get there though.

So he kissed her forehead instead, something that she really liked. Forehead kisses, for her, where some type of comfort and reassurance. "Thank you." He whispered.

Once they were cuddled and ready to sleep, Emily suddenly whispered "Maybe now those gross and ugly politicians would stop hitting on me." He knew she's been avoiding it. He knew her history, and he can only shudder with disgust as pictures older men trying touching her. "Don't worry, we've got your back. I've got your back."

"Just as long as you promise to save me from those plastic women pretending they're single."

Emily huffed, "Deal."

/

That weekend, JJ, Emily, and Garcia, hit the mall for some girl time and dress shopping. And shoes, definitely shoes. But before all the chaos, the ladies stopped by their favorite café for a little brunch. They were there so often that the staff already knew them and knew what they'd have.

"So, Em, what changed your mind?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, sweetness. You're Emily Prentiss, once you've decided on something, no one can change your mind. Unless, it's divine intervention. So what happened?"

"Divine intervention" Emily jokingly said in flat tone, earning a chuckle from her two best friends. _Divine intervention aka Aaron Hotchner_ , she thought.

"Aww C'mon, Em! Hm. I'm guessing someone asked you to be their date." Garcia said. This caused Emily to almost spill the coffee she was drinking, which did not go unnoticed to JJ.

"Ha! I saw that. Someone did ask you, didn't they?" JJ said.

"Maybe" Emily answered sheepishly, avoiding eye contacts from the two blondes.

"That's a strong yes you don't want to admit." JJ retorted with narrowing eyes.

"So, who is it?" Garcia asked. She turned to JJ and asked with excited eyes, "Wanna bet?"

"Oh no, please don't make this an office bet. I don't wanna go to SHS. My record is clean, thank you very much."

"So tell us who." Garcia remained persistent. But Emily remained silent. She's not even sure why she doesn't want to tell them she's going with Hotch.

"No. You just have to wait. Won't be that long anyway." She said, to the dismay on her friends.

The rest of the day was spent raiding the stores for their dress to the ball. There were literally almost a hundred to choose from in every store. They took their time trying out dresses that suit their taste. Some worked, some made them feel like a balloon. Some were too inappropriate, some were too Victorian era. But the three women never lose hope. Basically the women philosophy of shopping: _never lose hope._ Eventually one of them found their own perfect dress.

"Oh my goodness, Jayje! You look stunning!" Garcia exclaimed as JJ came out of the fitting room in a beautiful midnight blue long gown that perfectly accentuates her slim body.

"Yes, JJ. It looks beautiful on you. You look beautiful." Emily agreed.

"Yeah, I think this is the one for me." JJ said as checked herself in the mirror, twisting and turning.

An hour later, Garcia also found her Ball dress. "This is it! I love it!" She exclaimed as she comes out of the fitting room.

"Oh Pen! You look amazing! That's definitely your dress." JJ exclaimed, wherein Emily easily agreed. Garcia settled for a black long gown with gold embellishments. Definitely classy.

Emily was the only one left without a dress, and they were determined to find one today because with a job as unpredictable as theirs, they might be called to a case days before the event. So they set themselves on a mission to find the perfect dress for Emily. True enough, 3 more hours and 4 more shops later, Emily found her dress.

"Em!" JJ gasped as she came out of the fitting room, sporting the gown that she fell in love at first sight.

"Oh my lord, peaches! Look at you! You look so gorgeous I'm gonna cry" Garcia said as she took sight of her friend.

"You think it's alright?" Emily asked as she check herself out in the full-length mirror.

"Alright? Em, you're gonna be a head-turner. You look like a goddess!" JJ answered. And she did. It was like the gown that she chose was definitely made for her.

She made a final turn in front of the mirror, _yeah this is definitely my dress._

After satisfying their need for dresses, the women spent the remaining mall hours shopping for shoes, additional jewelries, and make-up. At the end of the day, they all went home tired but happy women. Emily more so than other two. And as she fell into deep slumber, all she can think about was _I can't wait for the Ball._


	5. Chapter 5

The week came and gone and before they knew it, it was Saturday and the Governor's Ball is tonight. Though she's hoping it will be a good day in general, Emily started rough as she woke up with a throbbing head and a constricted throat. She groaned as her muscles screamed in pain when she tried to get up. _No no no_ , she thought. This is a good day. She has a pretty dress, nice shoes, and gets to put on make-up. It's supposed to be a good day. "It will be a good day." Emily mumbled as she willed herself to get up and go the bathroom. Once there, she did her business and scrambled her first aid cabinet for Tylenol. She took one and then dragged herself back to bed. Hoping that a few more hours of sleep would help her feel better.

She was awaken from her slumber by the ringing of her phone hours later. Her hand fished the wailing object on her nightstand without even removing the duvet covering her head.

"This is Prentiss." She mumbled sleepily on the line.

"Emily? Is everything alright?" The man on the other line asked.

"Aaron!" She said, suddenly more alert. _Shit. Am I late?_ She glanced up the clock on her nightstand. 1pm. _Okay. Not late._

"Em, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little headache when I woke up this morning."

"Just a headache?" He asked, not trusting her tone, and the even the way she sounded.

"Yes. Just a headache. I promise. I just need to sleep it out some more."

"Okay. Well, I just wanted to remind you that I'll be there at 6:30pm. Just in case you forgot."

"I didn't. Thanks for the call though. I forgot to set the alarm again. I would've overslept."

"Get some more sleep, Em. I'll see you later." He said, although he had a different idea in mind.

As soon as the call ended, Hotch took a shower and repacked his go-bag. With his tux in tow, he got into his car and drove off. First, he made a stop at their local CVS to buy a few items that he thought she might need. Then, he stopped at the flower shop where he made arrangements with a couple of days ago. He wanted to do it right. Like a real date would. Knocking on her door at the exact time and giving her flowers. But hey, this is still better than nothing, right? So, after picking the bouquet of daisies that he ordered, he went off to Emily's apartment.

He decided to use the key that Emily gave to him – everyone on the team had agreed a spare key to their homes to everybody else in case of emergencies – so she didn't have to get up. Finding no one in the living room, he proceeded to the kitchen to whip up some food. He managed to cook some soup, just in case her stomach does not settle for solid food, chicken parmesan and grilled veggies, and some toast in case the latter was too much for her too. Adding a cup of tea, a glass of apple juice and two bottles of water on the tray, he went to Emily's room. He put the tray down on her dresser for the meantime while he wakes her up.

"Em" He shook her shoulder lightly, but he got no response. He put his hand on her forehead, then on her cheek. _Definitely warmer than normal._

"Sweetheart, wake up." He nudged her again. _Wait. Sweetheart?_ He asked himself where the endearment came from. She is dear to him, there is no question in that. He was distracted then by her groan.

"Aaron." She whispered as she blinked the sleepiness in her eyes.

"Shit. Aaron!" She suddenly sat up as the realization set. "Are we late? I'm sorry. I'll be quick." She said, about to get off the bed.

"Hey. Hey. Stop." He said softly, holding her by the shoulders. "We're not late, okay? There's still a few hours before we have to get ready. I just wanted to check on you."

She sighed in relief, "Oh. Okay. I'm okay. A little better." And that was a lie. She felt really crappy, and the sudden movement she did a few moments ago made her head spin.

"You feel a little warm. Do you have a thermometer?" He inquired.

"I think I have one in the medicine cabinet." So while Hotch was in search of her thermometer, Emily took the time to notice the tray of food on her dresser and the flowers. She smiled, the man was really sweet.

Hotch came back with the thermometer and handed it to her. She turned it on and put it in her mouth. While they wait for the beep, Hotch brought the tray to her. "I do not know what you're up for, or how your stomach is settling, so I've made a bit of everything. Soup, chicken and veggies, and toast. Then, there's tea, apple juice and water. I suggest you try to drink all the liquids. It'll help you get better quickly."

While she was trying to decide if the sumptuously-looking chicken and veggies would settle well in her stomach, the thermometer finally beeped. She took it out of her mouth but Hotch quickly grabbed it from her hand. "101." He mumbled. She took a sip of her tea, while Hotch was trying to decide what to do.

"I think you should just stay here." He said. As he was expecting, the surprise and disbelief was evident in her eyes.

"But… No! I feel better. Not well, but better. Aaron, I can go."

"Emily Prentiss" _Full name, oh no._ "It would do you no good if you still go to the ball. You most probably have the flu and you need to rest." He gave the best stern face that he could. It is definitely difficult to do it when he's talking to Emily. She's a walking ray of sunshine to him.

She looked at him with puppy eyes. "But you can't go alone. You asked me to be your date, and I said yes. I want to be there."

"Em, we're not even sure if you can stand up right now without toppling over."

Emily knew she was about to lose this argument so she pulled out the strongest gun she has. "But I got nice shoes and make-up and I got a beautiful dress that I'm excited to wear. Please. I feel better. I really do." She pouted.

 _Oh boy_. Hotch was in deep trouble and he knew it. That pout. He cannot resist that freaking pout. And she freaking knows it. She knows that at this moment, she has him wrapped around her finger. He sighed in defeat. "Fine. You can go. BUT you have to promise me that whenever you feel tired or sick or whatever it is, you'll tell me. No secrets. Deal?"

She then sported her victorious grin. "Deal."

"Okay, now let's eat and then you can have an hour's rest."

"Thank you for my flowers… and for this. You really didn't have to." Emil said quietly, looking down on her food.

Hotch's face softened at her, and so did his heart. He knew that Emily was not used to it. Not used to being fuss over, to being looked at, especially when sick. She was used to being independent, being alone. He had to admit to himself that it felt nice to take care of someone again other than his son. So he took her hand, squeezed it and said "But I wanted to. I really do."

Emily was able to finish more than half of the soup and half of the chicken. Hotch had the rest of the chicken and veggies and they shared the toast. After that, Emily's head was bothering her again so she decided to catch a little more rest. After Hotch was finished the dishes in the kitchen, he went back to Emily's room. His heart melted as he saw curled up and asleep on the bed. He decided a little nap wouldn't hurt him either, so he lied down beside her and pulled her close to him. "Feel better, sweetheart." He whispered softly on her shoulder before he closed his eyes.

/

A few hours later, Hotch was knocking on Emily bedroom door. He had to use the common bathroom and guest room to get ready so Emily can get ready in her room.

"Em, are you ready?" He asked through the door.

"Come on in. I'm almost ready." He opened her door, walked in, and immediately stopped at the sight in front of him. Emily was in front of her dresser putting on her earrings when he came in. Her hair was up with a few strands dangling over, and she was wearing a ruby red deep V-neck Grecian-style long gown. It definitely hugs her in all the right places, plus the deep neckline showcases enough cleavage. She paired it with her red lipstick and light make-up. She looked like a goddess.

Noticing that Hotch was dead in his tracks and just staring at her, she gave a tentative smile and asked, "Do I look alright?"

He smiled and walked toward her, "You look absolutely beautiful." He said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "And I know you don't need anything more to complete your look but here's a little something I hope you might like." He said, giving her a little box. "Open it."

She opened it and gasped. Inside was a double-row diamond riviere necklace. "Aaron, I- I can't accept this." She said, handing back the box to him.

"Em, it's a gift. Please just take it. It's nothing compared to what you've done for me and my kids."

"But you didn't have to get me anything." She whispered.

Hotch sighed, took the necklace from the box and stood behind her. "I know. But look, it was made for you." He said, placing the object around her neck and locking it in place. Emily looked at him in the mirror and smiled. _He is the perfect man._ "Thank you." She whispered.

They arrived a little late to the Ball, thanks to the wonderful local PD closing the major roads due to the event and caused major traffic. But once they entered the venue, Hotch noticed a number of men turning heads to his beautiful date. And as they make their way to their table to join their friends, more men, and even women, turned to look at her.

"Why are they looking at you?" She whispered to him, still trying to plaster that politician smile on her face.

"Believe me, they're all looking at you." He whispered back. _Easily the most beautiful woman here_ , he thought. Emily tried to hide her blush by smiling and looking down.

Once they reached their table, the rest of the team was already there. Emily could feel the knowing looks that the rest of the team was giving them. She knows Hotch can feel it too. But they chose to ignore it.

The event started with a few speeches and recognitions. A five-course meal was served later on while they were being serenaded by a live band. After which, the mingling started. Most of the men headed to the bar, including Hotch. That left JJ, Emily and Penelope on the table, and this provided for an interesting conversation.

"So... Hotch, huh?" Garcia said with a smirk.

"Guess Rossi won the bet." JJ mumbled.

"What?! You guys, I told you to stop the betting pool." Emily exclaimed.

"C'mon, Em! Where's the fun in that? Besides, Rossi was the only one who had money on Hotch. I mean, who knew, right?" Garcia said.

"Gee, Thanks, Pen. Crush a woman's confidence, why don't you?"

"No, that's not what I meant. Hotch is basically a robot, Em. No one expects him to bring a date to anything. So if he does, then that really really means something." Garcia explained.

"I agree. So, are you two…?" JJ started.

"No. No, we're not. We're just friends. Really good friends." She said that last sentence quietly.

"But you want something more." JJ voiced out her thought for her.

"It's not that easy. There are a lot of things to consider. We can't."

"Of course, you can. Woman, listen, we all see how Hotch is when he's with you, especially outside work. He's much more relaxed, his eyes are sparkling, he's smiling. All things glorious, all because of you!" Garcia said.

"Now you're just exaggerating. Can we please talk about something else?" Emily asked, making the two other girls laugh.

On Hotch's side, on the other hand, it was Dave who was pestering him about his date.

"Whether or not you've finally had the courage to say you love her, hence your arrival together, I have to say, _that's my boy."_

"Dave." Hotch said in his serious tone.

"Just hear me out, Aaron. You can never ask anything more from Emily – she's beautiful, intelligent, strong, and independent, the list is a thousand miles long. I'm pretty sure you've seen how many heads turned when you both walked in. Don't wait too long, Aaron. If you don't get tired of waiting, she might."

Hotch was just silent and looking at them. Dave was right, of course he is. If he's going into it, he's in it for the long-run. There's so much at stake to have a half-ass relationship. He also knows that Emily is the type of woman who'd rather have a long-term relationship too. He just doesn't know if she likes him like that. He's not sure if the feeling was mutual.

"Well, while you're trying to decide what to do with your life, I'm gonna bring the women some drinks." Dave said, effectively breaking his chain of thought about relationships and mutual feelings.

"Emily can't have alcohol. She's sick." He said, which kind of surprised Dave. "Bring her some sparkling apple juice. She likes those." And Dave just gave him a smirk.

While the rest of the team were enjoying their drinks and good conversation, Hotch was held hostage in a conversation by two Senators, and he was not enjoying it. The look on his face says it all. He, however, kept glancing at Emily, which did not go unnoticed to the other profilers. But neither of them said anything.

A slow music started and couples started filling the dance floor. Eventually, JJ and Garcia was asked by their respective dates to dance. Unfortunately, for Emily, Hotch was still in conversation with the senators.

"May I have this dance?" A deep voice said from behind, a hand held out to her. She turned and groaned inwardly when she saw who it was.

"Governor Peters." She said, politely smiling at the man. Governor Jeremy Peters, son of a former ambassador, national douche. She's known him since she was a kid, often seeing him at functions before. Their parents are great friends, too, of course.

"Would you care to dance with me, Emily?" Of course, Emily accepted his hand and they made their way to the dance floor. She knew how _extra_ this man can be, the drama king himself. She didn't want to cause a scene. Most of all, she didn't want any trouble from the bosses that this man might cause.

"So, still single, Emily?"

She snorted, "You don't beat around the bush, do you?" She's innately disgusted right now that she might throw up. She's mentally praying that Hotch will come right at this moment.

"Well, no. I'm a very busy man, so I like to go straight to the point."

"Good for you." She said, faking a smile. All throughout the dance she kept thinking where Aaron has gone. They made a deal. He was supposed to save her from this. Now all that she's getting is nausea and a headache and chills, the bad ones. So, she closed her eyes, praying to god that this guy would get tired soon and that she doesn't have the flu because that would totally suck.

They were just half-way through the songs, which felt like 5 hours for Emily, when a deep voice was suddenly heard. "Excuse me, Governor Peters, but do you mind if I get my chance to dance with the most beautiful lady tonight?" Hotch asked, extending his hand out to her. "Not at all, Agent Hotchner." He said.

"It's been really nice to see you again, Emily." He said before giving her right hand to Hotch. She simply gave a nod.

Emily sighed in relief and leaned her head on his chest as Hotch pulled her closer to him. He looked down at her only to see her tired eyes. "Are you okay?" He whispered on the top of her head.

"I am now." She murmured, muffled by his tux.

"Sweetheart, are you sure?" There's the endearment again, and this time Emily heard it. Her eyes popped open and her heart fluttered. Her trance was however broken when she felt Hotch's hand on her forehead and then on her cheek.

"I think your fever's back. We should go home."

She whimpered and shook her head. They just started this dance. It can't be over yet. It's too good to be over. "Just one more song. Please?" She asked, looking up at him. It sounded quite desperate but she didn't care.

He looked down and saw her sparkling but pleading eyes. One more dance can't hurt. So he smiled, kissed her forehead and said, "Of course, sweetheart."

"Thank you." She whispered. Sensing that Emily didn't make any comment on the endearment, Hotch though she's fine with it. And fine with it, she is. Emily's heart fluttered and her stomach flipped like a gymnast whenever she heard him call her _sweetheart_. In Hotch's mind and heart, she is his sweetheart.


	6. Chapter 6

"Head on upstairs and go change. I'll be there in a moment. " He told her as they entered her apartment. Emily was already dragging and her head was pounding. Plus the chills she's been getting from her high temperature.

But Emily shook her head. She wants him to stay. It's selfish of her because she knew he had Jack and Maya tomorrow until Monday. But she didn't want to be alone either. "Please stay." She said quietly he could barely hear her. "I don't want to be alone." She continued, shaking her head. She knew she was already asking too much from him for tonight, but maybe he could let her off the hook just this once.

Hotch felt everything inside him shattered. Hearing her request and how small she sounded. Did she really think he would just leave her like that? Now he wonders who are all of the poor excuses of men that made Emily think that she was unworthy of any company or affection and where he can find them. Because he'd really like to have a very violent conversation with each and every one of them.

He gathered her in his arms in a tight hug. "Hey. Hey. Sweetheart, I'm not leaving you, okay? Especially not in this condition." He pulled away so he can cup her cheeks in both hands, and look directly into her glassy eyes, "I'm staying. I'm staying for as long as you'll have me." He said and Emily could feel the passion and conviction in his voice. She didn't trust her voice so she just sighed in relief and nodded.

"But I hope you wouldn't mind having 2 little bears tomorrow and Monday." He smiled.

God, she loved that smile. "No. Not at all."

Emily proceeded upstairs to get ready for bed. Hotch knew it would take her awhile since she still has to undo her hair and remove her make-up. So after making sure that the door and windows were locked, he went to the kitchen to prepare some tea for Emily. He brought a few crackers too for when she takes her medicine.

When he got upstairs, with tea, crackers and a bottle of water on tray, Emily was already curled up in bed with her hands clutching her stomach, wincing. He placed the tray on the bedside table and sat beside her on the edge of the bed.

"Hey" He said softly, sweeping her hair away from her face with his hand. Her eyes opened but she only looked at him. This bothered Hotch so much. "Is your stomach bothering you? Are you in pain?" He asked and she just gave a faint nod. He's never seen her so vulnerable and fragile. Emily never showed any weakness. She's the queen of compartmentalization for heaven's sake. She's went to the BAU sick a few times before but she always held herself together then. But now – now she's here whimpering in pain and he can't do anything about it. He just wanted to gather her in his arms and make the pain go away, but he couldn't. He may be SSA Aaron Hotchner, one of the FBI's best, but he's not a doctor nor a miracle worker.

"Oh sweetheart. I'm so sorry." He sighed, his palm caressing her stomach trying to somehow ease the pain. "I've made some tea. Would you like to try and see if the heat will help?" She nodded and tried to sit up, only being successful with Hotch's help. He handed her the cup of tea and placed the crackers on her lap. "Just have even a little bit okay?" And she nodded again. She was getting weaker and this bothered Hotch. "I'll be right back." He whispered before going out of the room.

"Andrew, so sorry to call you at this hour." Hotch said to the other man on the line. Andrew Whelan, one his best buddies since he was a kid, is a doctor in Virginia. Since he did not know Emily's doctor, he decided to call him.

"Aaron. To what do I owe the pleasure?" The other man greeted, cheery even during the wee hours of the night.

"My uh… my friend's sick and uhm.. I just need a few advice."

"Symptoms?"

"Her fever was on and off during the day but now it's really high, she's having stomach pains and is very weak she can't even talk."

"Okay. It could be just a common flu, but if she's still in the same condition by tomorrow afternoon, I suggest you bring her in. Monitor her temperature and make her drink lots of fluids. Even just small sips at a time. Is she vomiting?"

"No. Well, not yet at least."

"She will, and you have to make sure she's drinking her fluids or else she'll be dehydrated. Hot compress or heating pad will help with the pain, at least just enough to let her rest."

"Okay. Okay. I'll do that. Thank you."

"You're welcome. If you need anything else or if her symptoms aggravated tonight, bring her in and call me. I'll be there to personally check on her."

"Thank you, Andrew, I truly appreciate it. Bye."

It was indeed a long night. The heating pad helped Emily relax enough to let her sleep. It didn't last long though as Emily made a run for the toilet after two hours, and it's happened three more times. Now, they're back in bed, and he's hoping there'd be no more throwing up tonight. All there was left were dry heaves and he knew it was painful. There were tears in her eyes and she struggled to breathe. The last time he checked 3 hours ago, her temperature was at 101. When he felt her slow, even breathing, he closed his eyes knowing she's already asleep.

However, at 10am he found himself sitting on an uncomfortable chair with Emily in a hospital bed in a private room. He decided to bring her in around 7am because her fever spiked at 103 and she was again vomiting and complaining about stomach pains. Andrew personally checked on her. He told Hotch that she was already dehydrated despite taking the proper precaution of making her drink fluids and her vitals were low. They deduced to a viral infection and decided that it would be better to keep her in until she recovered. In other words, she was in a really bad shape.

Now Hotch is debating to himself whether he should get the kids and just take them to hospital with him or just let them stay with their mother. He knew either way that his ex-wife would give him shit for it but he didn't care. His main concern right now is Emily because Emily has done a lot for them and this is only one little way to return all the favors. In the middle of Hotch's contemplation, he heard Emily moan, her head shaking from side to side a little.

He scooted over and held her hand. "Shhh. Sweetheart, I'm here. You're okay." He whispered, thinking she might be having a nightmare. She relaxed and slowly opened her eyes as much as she could.

"Aaron" she called as loud as she could, but still Hotch could barely hear. He did noticed her roaming her eyes around, trying to take in her surroundings. "T'happened?"

"You're very sick, a viral infection, you're dehydrated so they decided to keep you in until you're recovered."

She sighed and closed her eyes. She opened them and looked directly into his. "Go home. Kids." He knew she was tired again, if her labored breathing and heavy were any indication. But his heart fluttered like so many other times. Even if she's laying here on a hospital bed, she still selfless.

"The kids will be okay. Sweetheart, I'm not leaving you. Sleep, Emily. I'll be right here." He whispered and kissed her forehead just as her eyes closed. Once he was sure that she was asleep again, Hotch went outside and stood by the door to make a call.

"Hey Hotch! This isn't a work call, right?" JJ answered on the other line.

"No. No, it's not. JJ, I need a favor." At his words, JJ was suddenly alert. Hotch never asks for favors, especially on days off.

"Of course. What is it?"

"I'm at the hospital. Uhm, Emily's sick so I took her in this morning."

"Oh my god, how is she?"

"Very weak, if I may say so myself. She's resting now but we might stay here a couple of days. I was hoping you can get her some clothes, just comfortable ones, and toiletries? And can you let the rest of the team know? I need to call the kids after this."

"I'll get right on it. Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah… Wait, her blanket…"

"Of course, I'd never forget her blanket." JJ chimed before he could finish his sentence. The blanket referred to was Emily's favorite blanket that her Russian nanny made for her when she was 9. Her mother was stationed in Russia and said nanny was her only friend. She held on to the blanket though. They maintained communication even when Emily moved away and even as she got older, until she received the news that she passed away 7 years ago. It's too small for her now, obviously, but she liked having it close to her when she sleeps.

"Thanks, JJ."

After his call to JJ, he then made another, one that he's dreading, not because he didn't want to talk to his kids but because he didn't to talk to Haley. He knew she'd make a big deal out of this, as she is the drama queen herself. He didn't need more stress in his life.

"Aaron."

"Haley"

"Do you have a case?"

He sighed, "No, it's not that. It's uhm, Emily. She's very sick and in the hospital right now."

"So you can't take the kids today" Haley said in a snappy tone that didn't go unnoticed to Hotch.

"No. I can't. I'll be here most of the day. It's not safe for them to be here. Hand Maya the phone, please." Haley didn't say anything more, to which he was grateful for.

He talked to Maya and apologized whole-heartedly that he couldn't see them today. Of course, his daughter was very understanding. She has so much kindness in her heart. He did hear the panic in her voice though when he mentioned that Emily was in the hospital. But he was quick to explain that she's recovering and will be fine. He then talked to Jack, who was also genuinely concerned about Emily. Hotch said his goodbye with one more reassurance that Emily will be fine and they can visit her soon, and that he will visit them later today.

Just as Hotch was finished with his phone call, the nurse came in to check on Emily. "Her vitals are going up. Her blood's pressure almost normal, so that's a good sign. She's still at 102 though. Has she woken up yet?" The nice nurse asked.

"Yes, she has. About an hour ago, but she was only awake for about 2 minutes."

"That's understandable. The antibiotics are strong so it could make her really drowsy and her body is still very weak. You can wipe her with cold towels, especially on her face and neck, it'll help take her temperature down, or at least keep it from spiking up any more. Also, when she wakes up again, try to get her something to eat and drink some water or have some ice chips. I'll request some soup for her. I'll be back again later today."

"Sure, I will do that. Thank you very much."

Hotch immediately grabbed a small face towel in the cabinet and wet it with cold water. Then he sat back down on the edge of Emily's bed. He softly wiped her forehead, then her cheeks, and her neck with the towel, repeating the same pattern over and over again until the towel got warm. He wet the towel again and continued to wipe her. He was so focused on this that he actually jumped when someone knocked on the door. It turned out to be some guy who brought her food.

When Emily woke up again, her head was much clearer, although she still feel like she's dying. _If this is what dying feels like, I don't want to die_ , she thought. She turned her to the direction of the bathroom where Hotch popped out. He immediately smiled when he saw her awake.

"Hi." He whispered.

"Hi."

"Hungry?"

"Thirsty." Upon hearing this, Hotch immediately grabbed the water and straw. Emily took a few sips before handing it back to him.

"Your very nice nurse told me that you need to eat something when you wake up. So, they brought in some soup for you." He immediately saw her frown. "You have to eat, sweetheart. Please, even just a little bit?" He asked, giving her his best puppy eyes. Emily gave him weak smile and a faint nod, "Okay."

So, he helped her get into a sitting position and adjust her bed. Hotch was sitting facing her with the bowl in his hand. "I can feed myself, Aaron." Emily said, weakness still evident in her voice.

He sighed. I guess it's a proven fact that no matter what state she's in, her stubbornness is still off the roof. So he gave her a stern look and said, "Emily, you kill me with your stubbornness." She smiled. "But you're not winning this time. So, just eat, okay?" He lifted the spoon full of soup in front of her, which she gladly accepted.

Emily managed to eat almost half of the soup, which was definitely a good sign. Hotch then handed her the water bottle again while he put the food away on the side. Then, he sat beside her again and wiped her mouth with a napkin. Emily couldn't help but be touch at this gesture. No one, and she means no one, has ever done something like this for her. Not even her mother. But now, she has Hotch. She has someone who truly cares about her. She didn't realize a tear started to fall from her eyes because it was in this moment that she realized that she will never be alone again.

"Hey, what's with the tears?" He ask softly, wiping the tear with his thumb.

She curled her hand around his wrist tightly. "Thank you for staying, for everything. Nobody's… Nobody's ever really done that for me."

There's so many things that he could tell her right now. So many reasons he could give. But now is not the time for love confessions, he thinks. Instead, he kissed her forehead, let it linger for a few seconds. "You deserve the world, Emily Prentiss." He whispered. Suddenly, all of the tears pour out of Emily. How did she get so lucky? But how did she also get so emotional? _Oh Lord_. She then deduced it to her sickness, absurd as it may sound.

Emily managed to stay awake longer, which was a blessing because the team came around to visit later in that day. "Hey guys!" She greeted as cheerful as she could. Her heart swelled at the thought gifts they brought. Expensive chocolates from Rossi. Two dozens of chocolate-covered strawberries from Penelope. A big bouquet of her favorite flowers from Morgan. A box of tea selection from Reid, and adorable balloons from JJ. To say that her room looked like a gift shop was an understatement. It was obvious from her face all throughout that she was happy with her visitors around. The room was filled cheery conversations and laughter.

The men eventually said their goodbyes one by one. Hotch texted Penelope and JJ earlier to stay with Emily while he visits the kids. "Aren't you two going yet?" Emily wondered, but Garcia and JJ just looked at each other until Hotch cleared his throat and walked towards Emily. So the two blondes took that as a sign to excuse themselves to get coffee.

"I have to leave for a while. I promised the kids I'll visit them today. I won't be long though, and JJ and Garcia will stay with you." He said while trying to smoothen her blanket.

"Aaron, go home and stay with the kids. They need you. I'm sure they miss you. I'll be fine here."

"Trust me, they'll be the first ones to kick my butt if they find out I left you here." He smirked, and that a earned a chuckle from Emily. "Okay. Give them hugs and kisses from me."

"I will, sweetheart. I'll see you later." And he gave her a kiss on her forehead before heading out.

When Hotch came just came back around 8PM, a little later than he expected. But JJ and Garcia were very understanding and very willing to stay with Emily. When he got back into Emily's room, she was already asleep and JJ and Garcia were reading their own books. They gave him a smile as he entered the room. "Thank you, guys. Really." He said in a hush tone. "It's no problem, Hotch. We take care of each other, remember?" Garcia said.

Once they left, Hotch again went back to his task of wiping Emily with a cold towel as JJ and Garcia told him that her temperature spiked up. He also noticed that her breathing was quite labored again.

Emily's eyes fluttered open when she felt chill racking up her body. She also felt something cold on her face. "You're back." She whispered.

Hotch dropped the towel on the bedside table. "Of course, I am. How are you feeling?"

"Chills."

"I know. I'm sorry." He really was. But as much as he wanted to bundle her up in layers and layers of blanket, it will do her no good. But, he did remember that JJ brought her blanket. So, he stood up and turned up the heat a little bit, then rummaged through go-bag.

He was smiling triumphantly as he sat back down on the edge of her bed. "Here. I know you've been missing this."

"Oh." She honestly could cry right now. "Aaron." She said in astonishment as she touched the soft cloth on her cheek. "Thank you. "

He just nod at her, basking in her happy face. Well, as happy as it could be. "Will you lay with me?" She asked.

"Em, you won't be comfortable with two of us in a single bed, plus, the nurses might kick me out." He joked. Well, it was half-meant. He didn't really wanna get kicked out. But then he also could see the emotions in her eyes- the sadness, the exhaustion, and longing.

"Please?" Her voice shaking as the chills hit her again, and this time, Hotch could not deny her.

He sighed and started taking off his jacket and then his shoes. Emily moved a little over to the side to give space. It was quite a fit but they managed. Now, she's cuddled around him with her face on the crook of his neck, with her blanket clutched to her. He has his arms around her protectively, hands soothing her back and her hair, trying to somehow comfort her and keep her warm.

Just as when he thought she was already asleep, he heard her speak, "Aaron?" So he looked down on her and smiled when he saw her eyes were already closed.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

She sighed, "I love the forehead kisses." He was about to say something when she continued, "And I like being _sweetheart."_ Then he felt something in his heart that he's pretty sure he hasn't felt in a long time. There was a certain kind of warmness. _It's love_ , the annoying little voice in his head said.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Good night, sweetheart." He said and gave her one last kiss on her forehead before closing his eyes and letting sleep conquer him for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

The tension can be felt through outer space. The team is on their way back to Quantico after a grueling case which every single one of them will surely never forget. As for the tension, it's between Hotch and Emily. No one saw it coming. As far as everyone was concerned, these two understand each other well. That explains why they work together well on the field. But this one – this one blew up right into their faces, literally and figuratively. And now, the two agents had not said a word to each other the entire day.

"What do we do?" Spencer asked JJ and Dave who's sitting beside him and across him respectively. He does not like this. Not at all. It feels mom and dad are fighting and he's in trouble every time he opens his mouth, and he feels like he has to take sides.

"Nothing. We let them figure it out themselves." Dave said. This wasn't a normal fight and he knows it. But he also knows that one of them will eventually give in. They just need to cool down.

"We could've saved her, you know?" JJ said.

"Or we could've lost them both." Spencer said without even looking up from his book.

***FLASHBACK – 2 DAYS AGO***

"This girl was found walking alone on the highway in Miami, Florida two nights ago." JJ said a photo of a girl with beautiful green eyes looking straight into the camera as if it was piercing their souls flashed before the screen of the round-table. "She was almost hit by several cars. Fortunately, one of them stopped and called authorities. She put up quite a fight when they tried to take her on the ambulance. They couldn't check her up or even get close to her as she would start screaming."

"Then yesterday, 3 girls went missing in the same area. Isla Dennings, age 7, she was just playing in her front yard. The mother said she could see her daughter from the window in the kitchen but then the phone rang and when she came back, Isla was gone. Madison Lindt, age 10, she was walking back home from a friend's house. A cctv footage from a store nearby shows her walking on the sidewalk when a black sedan pulled up and grabbed her quickly. Lastly, Ava McClinton, age 11. The school called her parents when Ava didn't show up yesterday, but Mrs. McClinton was very certain Ava left for school that day."

"No other connections?" Derek asked.

"None so far."

"Victimology wise, it is only Ava who looked similar from that girl they found on the highway." Spencer added.

"Oh look at her eyes, so beautiful yet so sad." Garcia chimed in.

"Connections or not, this is a high rate of abduction in one day in the same place. We know the statistics. Wheel's up in 10." Hotch said, immediately dismissing everyone to get ready for their flight.

As they were briefing on the jet, Garcia's face popped up on the screens. "Hello, my lovely superheroes. On your screens you will see the live footage from the hospital room's cctv where our beautiful mystery girl is currently in. And here are some of the photos sent by the local PD." The footage showed the girl sitting in the corner of the hospital room, with papers scattered all over.

Everyone in the jet fell silent as they watch the girl. They could see how damaged she is, how much suffering she's been through.

Hotch sighed, "When we land, JJ & Reid, you set up with the local PD, Dave and Morgan, I want you check out the site where the girl was found, see if there are any spots that the police might have missed, Emily and I will go to the hospital."

When the jet landed, everyone immediately dispersed to their assigned locations. As Hotch was driving the SUV to the hospital, he noticed how bothered Emily is. In everyone's eyes, she looked okay, but Hotch can see through to her. "What are you thinking?" He asked quietly, eyes still on the road.

"Her." She said, showing the photo of the mystery girl. "I don't know if I can get through to her." She admitted, more to herself than to Hotch.

"If there's anyone in this team who could do it, it's you." He's never seen Emily doubt herself on the field, and this too, right now, is bothering him. But he trusts her so much and she knows she can get the job done.

Hotch and Emily flashed their badges on the officers guarding the room and immediately asked for the doctor.

"From what we can see, she has several wounds on her feet, her right ankle is a little swollen too, and rope burns are evident on her wrists. However, we can never really tell the full extent of her injuries unless we check on her. But as of the moment, no one can even go inside room without her going ballistic." The doctor explained as they watched the girl through the room's glass window. Emily and Hotch then nodded at each other before she came in.

Emily immediately observed her surroundings –curtains drawn, messy hospital bed, untouched food tray, papers and colored pens lying around, and a little girl sitting in corner facing the wall in a dirty shirt that's too big for her. She sat down on the floor too, but carefully maintaining distance from the girl. Emily then took notice of the papers scattered on the floor. She grabbed one and immediately noticed words written in scrambled cursive form. However, it was decent enough to see that it was something in French. _A line from a book? A song?_ Then, she picked up another paper and noticed that the words were German, which she was not very fluent in. Then, she grabbed another one, this time with Italian writings on them. She deciphered that it was the same words that were written in French on the other paper. Emily grabbed all the papers she could and all of it had words written in more foreign languages, including Spanish, Russian, Portugese, Arabic, and Filipino. _Wow. How many languages does she know?_ This made it even trickier for Emily to talk to her since she doesn't know what language to use. She doesn't even know if the girl spoke English as it was not in any of the papers.

So, with a sigh, Emily turned her attention back to the girl. "Hello there. My name is Emily Prentiss. I'm with the FBI. Do you know what the FBI is?" she asked in a soft tone, almost motherly. But she did not get any answer. "What's your name, sweetheart?" Still no answer.

"I know you're scared, but we are here to help, okay? You're safe now. Please, let us help you." Emily sighed, this is going to be harder than she thought, and she already thought it was going to be hard. So, she looked at the paper again. Maybe if she read the words over and over she could somehow recall something similar. But she came up empty. She needed reinforcement. So she stood up and said "I'll be right back." But just as Emily turned her back and walked towards the door, she heard something that made her stop on her track.

 _À la claire fontaine,_

 _M'en allant promener_

 _J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle_

 _Que je m'y suis baigné_

 _Il y a longtemps que je t'aime_

 _Jamais je ne t'oublierai_.

The girl started singing. It was in a very hushed tone, that you could barely hear it. But Emily hears it well, she knows the song well. So, she walked back and sat down on her previous spot.

 _Sous les feuilles d'un chêne,_

 _Je me suis fait sécher_

 _Sur la plus haute branche,_

 _Un rossignol chantait_

 _Il y a longtemps que je t'aime_

Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Emily sang the last line with her, which made the girl stopped. A few moments later, she turned around to look at Emily, where the older woman gave her a little smile in return.

"Salut" Emily whispered, the girl still staring at her, and is now sitting faced her.

"Pouvez-vous me dire votre nom?" (Can you tell me your name?) She added, but still nothing. So, she waited. It was all the she could do, until Hotch knocked on the door a few minutes later.

Once outside, Emily gave a tired sigh. "She's written in so many languages, Hotch. Even I do not know some of it."

"Do you think she's foreign?" He asked.

"Hard to tell. She could just be a multi-lingual, which is impressive for her age. But, I really couldn't get any more than that."

"I'll have Garcia check on international databases."

"Any updates from the team?"

"None yet. I'll-" They were cut off the by a knock on the door where Emily was previously.

"Go." He said to her. "I'll be right here and check on the team for updates."

When Emily opened the door, the girl ran back to the corner and again sat on the floor. Emily gladly copied the gesture.

" _Comment avez-vous appris tant de langues_?" (How did you learn so many languages?) Emily asked. "Was someone teaching you?"

It took a while, but finally, Emily got an answer. "Mama." The girl whispered.

"Your mama taught you? What's her name?" Emily asked, but to her disappointment she didn't answer. Instead, the girl crawled towards her, "Mama?" then touched her face with both hands. For the first time since they've been here, Emily could see deep into her eyes, all she could see was longing and fear.

"No, sweetheart. I'm not-" She tried to say, but it was too late as the girl already launched herself onto her and hugged her tightly. "Mama!" The girl cried, and all Emily could do was hug her back.


	8. Chapter 8

Hotch watched the entire scene from the glass window. The girl was in a daze and so traumatized that she thought Emily was her mother. But this also gave him and idea. A long shot, but probably the best they have at the moment.

"Garcia."

"Oh captain, my captain."

"Try narrowing your search to girls whose mothers have similar features with Emily."

"Oh?"

"The girl thought she was her mother. It's a long shot but she's still not talking so it's the best we have right now."

"Got it, sir. But this might still take a while."

"I understand. Thanks, Garcia."

Emily, on the other hand, made progress with the girl as she convinced her to let the doctors and nurses check up on her and clean her up with a promise that she will never leave her side. All negotiations between Emily and the little girl were made in French.

The team eventually regrouped at the local police station but Emily opted to stay in the hospital. The girl was sedated when Hotch left, still Emily opted to stay because she was just not about to break a promise she made to a little girl who has seen so much ugliness in this world. She's already too damage for broken promises. Emily wanted to show her that there is still some good left in this world.

The team back at the station was discussing on a possible profile when Garcia popped up on the laptop screen.

"Garcia." Hotch greeted.

"Sir. I- I think I found her."

"Who?"

"The girl. I think I know who she is."

"Alright, conference in Emily before you proceed." Hotch ordered, and once Emily was on the other line, Garcia started her discussion.

"Okay so our genius bossman right there asked me to narrow my worldwide search to missing girls whose mothers had similar features as Emily. It took a while, but look – " she said, popping an age-progression photo that definitely looked like there mystery girl.

"What's her name?" Dave asked impatiently.

"Camilla Laurent, now aged 11. She's an only child and they live in Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the richest communities in France. Turns out Camilla was tested by Mensa and showed that she had an IQ almost as high as Einstein. At two years old. Basically a child prodigy. However, at 4 years old, Camilla was reported missing by her mother. According to the report, the girl was playing in their front lawn while the mother was inside. She said she could see Camilla through the window. But then, the phone started to ring and when she answered there was no one there. When she came back, Camilla was gone. She said she was only away for about 15 seconds."

"Same MO as with Isla Dennings' abduction." JJ pointed out.

"Where are the parents now, Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Oh. This gets sadder. Cecilia and Victor were murdered in their home exactly 1 year after their daughter went missing. The case remains unsolved and eventually, the missing case of Camilla Laurent just became cold."

"We need to get the parents of the missing girls in custody." Hotch ordered, which Dave immediately relayed to the local chief.

"Sir, there's one more thing that's really really disturbing, not that all of this is not disturbing enough."

"What's that?"

"The mother, Cecillia, she really, really, _I mean really_ , looked like our Emily." Garcia said in a worried voice while flashing the photos of the parents on the laptop screen.

They all gasped. "This explains why Camilla thought Emily was her mother." Hotch explained.

"Garcia, no other relatives came forward?"

"None. The bodies of Cecilia and Victor were only discovered when a family friend came to their house the next day and found the bodies."

"Could we be looking at a human trafficking ring?" Morgan asked.

"If it is, why did they hold Camilla for so long?" JJ asked.

The room was silent for a few moments, because no one honestly knew the answer. No one except Reid, of course. "They were grooming her."

"Grooming her?" Morgan asked in confusion.

"Camilla is a child prodigy, hence she could sell for a bigger amount compared to the others. Since she was young when she was abducted, they needed to teach her first. The more she knows, the better. This could be expensive for the abductors."

"But that contradicts the bruises on her body." JJ added.

"Not really. Camilla could have started fighting once she realized what was going on. Almost all of her bruises are quite new, which means she only started acting out against them recently."

"So we're looking for a group? Partners, perhaps?"

"Possibly. I'll go back to Emily and see if there's new information. I need you all to revisit the families of the recent victims and find out what could be special about the girls – sports, arts, academic. Anything." Hotch said before heading out.

/

"Do you know who this is?" Emily asked. She was now sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, facing Camilla. She presented a photo of a two-year old Camilla, smiling widely with a stuffed bunny in her hand. However, Camilla didn't answer. So then, Emily showed her another photo, this time of her parents. At the sight of this, Camilla started to cry as she held the photo in her hand.

"You remember don't you?"

"Camilla, that's your name, isn't it?" But still the girl ignored her.

"Look, sweetheart," Emily reached up to touch her shoulder, but Camille pulled away sharply.

"Don't!" "Don't do that." She whispered. "She gets jealous."

Child victims are usually hard to deal with, and Emily was usually good with them. But now this – this one is for the record books. Camilla was different, Emily thought for sure.

"Who? Who gets jealous, Camilla? Tell me."

But she shook her head in defiance. "You have to leave. They're going to come back. They're going to come back and if they find you in here, they'll kill you. I don't want you to get killed, Emily. Please, leave now and take your husband with you. Please." The little girl begged. _Wait, husband?_ Emily didn't let that one slip her mind.

"Camilla, I promise you, you're safe here. No one's going to hurt you anymore. Just tell me who they are."

"I- I shouldn't have ran away. It's all my fault. Tell the other girls I'm sorry. Tell their families I'm sorry."

"None of this is your fault, sweetie. Listen to me." Emily lifted the girl's chin up to look at her. "Whatever happened to you out there, it's not going to happen again. I won't let it."

Holding on to that promise, the little girl finally opened up to Emily. Although, she could not give an exact location since she was hidden in a room all the time, she did give her valuable information. She remembers being taken from their house in France. It was a man and woman. They kept her in a house for four years, until they moved to the US. In that span of time, the couple managed to convince Camilla that her parents gave her up because she was too high-maintenance so they sold her to them. As she grew up, she learned to live with them. She never knew their names and that she only called by _Miss_ and _Sir._ Also during that time, there were several other girls who came from different countries. But she said most of them only stayed for a short while, usually another couple would pick them up. But Camilla never got chosen and she wondered why. The miss, she says, was nicer. She would teach Camilla everything, including languages, literature, geography, history. But the man was harsh. When they moved to the US, she said the couple got more older women than girls. She befriended one nice lady, she says. But eventually, she saw the _sir_ beating up her new friend until she was dead. That was when Camilla started fighting back. She wanted it to stop. She wanted to get away. She wanted freedom. And so, that's what she did. But little did she know that the price of her freedom would be the lives of three other girls.

Emily sighed as she closed the door behind her. That was probably the most emotionally-draining and life-draining interview she's ever done. She's seen so much horrible stuff but nothing like this. A little girl abducted and made to believe that she's not wanted anymore, who does that? And what kind of monsters kidnap girls from other families and sell them? This entire thing made her sick.

"Hey" She heard, and looked up to see Hotch approaching and handing her a cup of coffee.

She smiled her thanks, still unable to decipher what she should feel. "We need to go back to the station so we can narrow down the profile with this new information." He said.

So with strict instructions to the officers guarding the girl's room, Hotch and Emily returned to the station to meet the team. Once there, they were able to discuss and eventually build a profile that they were able to give to the police. However, when they were done delivering the profile, the lead detective approached them with bad news.

"The girl, she's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?!" Emily asked, the anger evident in her voice. The team already heading out.

"Someone poisoned the guards and somehow managed to get her out of there."

"Unbelievable!" Morgan exclaimed.

The drive to the hospital was intense, to say the least. This wasn't supposed to happen. That's why there were guards – two freaking guards- by her door. It felt like a failure on their part.

As he drives the SUV, Hotch could sense how angry Emily was, but since JJ and Reid were in the backseat, he couldn't much as talk to her. Not like that. Not like Aaron. Because if he does, Emily would think that he's undermining her capabilities in the field, and that's not even what he meant. He just wanted to hear her say that she's not okay.

A tech team already arrived at the scene and currently scanning the premises for evidence when they arrived. Everyone was ordered to search the parameter while Hotch and Emily went to the girl's previous room.

"Agent Prentiss, this letter was found under the pillow." One of the officers said, handing her an evidence bag with a piece of paper inside.

The paper was folded and has _Emily_ written up front. When she opened it up, it was a letter from Camilla.

 _If I'm gone, if I get lost, please find me. Find me, Emily._ Then, there was another folded piece of paper. Inside was Camilla's amazingly perfect sketch of a woman.

"Hotch-"

"I know. Let's go."

Since the sketch was rather specific, Garcia was able to trace her and her partner down. They go by several aliases, and only one of them was in the system, so it was rather hard for any ordinary person to track them down. Thank goodness Garcia was anything beyond ordinary. Basically a miracle worker.

Danny and Amira Lazo, their real names, were tracked down in a house 30 minutes from the station. The team wasted no time going there, including the local PD and SWAT.

"There could be traps waiting for us. This was too easy for them. I need everyone on heightened alert." Hotch ordered.

When they got to the house, it was indeed too easy. They found the body of Danny and Amira in the master's bedroom. There were bubbles coming out of their mouth. The three missing girls were found locked up in a closet. _Still too easy_. However, there was no sign of Camilla. When Hotch and Emily reached the basement together with a couple of SWAT, they realized that their gut was right. There is a trap. A bomb. 1 minute and 30 seconds left.

"Camilla!" Emily shouted. She should be here, she thought. "Camilla, it's Emily!" They were cautious in touching anything as it could possibly be connected to the bomb.

"Prentiss, we have to leave. Now." Hotch ordered.

"No. I am not leaving without her." "Camilla!"

With that, Hotch grabbed her and picked her up. There was no way they were dying this way. Not unless there is time and a way to get out. "Hotch! No! Camilla! Hotch put me down!" But he did not concede. They were out of the house 7 seconds before the bomb went off. All Emily could do was watch as the house was engulfed in flames. She never wished to be blown off by a bomb, no, that would be a gruesome death. Not until now.


	9. Chapter 9

*Back to present time*

All the team could do was watch as Emily walk past them and go straight into her car. They watched as the tires screech and she drove fast.

"Yes, thank you officer." Hotch said to the other man on the before ending the call.

"Negative?" Dave asked in a hush tone.

"Negative."

Dave nodded. "In the meantime, you might wanna keep an eye on her." He said, pertaining to Emily.

"I was thinking of sending Morgan or JJ. She most probably don't want to see me."

"Aaron, I do not know how you've stayed married for almost 20 years and still have no idea what the girl code is. Trust me, she wants to see you. She's stubborn, so be patient."

"You know patience is never one of my virtues."

"And that my friend is where you and Emily clash. Good luck." Dave gave him a pat on the shoulder before heading to his own car.

/

It was midnight when a very reluctant Hotch made it to Emily's apartment. He's given her time, and he just can't wait anymore. He just can't sit around and wonder what she's been doing. He needed to know. He needed to be with her.

Emily was not answering his calls nor his messages. But he understood.

" _I'm coming in."_ He texted her before opening her door using his key so as not to freak her out. Knowing that she would not reply anyway, Hotch proceeded on opening the door and letting himself in.

He didn't call for her. He didn't need to because he already saw her. She was on the curled up on the couch, feet up, knees to her chess, holding a glass of wine. He could see the bottle on the coffee table as approach her. It was already half empty. _How much has she been drinking? Is this still her first bottle?_

Hotch sat down on the other end of the couch and sighed. She hasn't pushed him away, which he took as a good sign. So he waited.

Emily was past the angry stage though. She just needed to wallow. Already doing it by herself, she thought Hotch's presence wouldn't make any difference. She's trying so hard to put this case behind her, not take it with her. Trying so hard to put it in a box and lock it away. But she can't. There's actually a physical pain in her heart, well, could be psychological but she didn't care. She's feeling a physical ache in her body, a longing for something. It's so strong, it's in the pit of her stomach, she feels like she might throw up.

Just gotta put it somewhere far in her mind. Somewhere her heart can't find. She's trying so hard, it hurts. She can't. She can't do it. She needs a good cry.

And cry she did.

Emily put her wine glass down and crawled over to where Hotch is. She placed her head on his lap and curled up her body, and just let the tears fall. Hotch immediately started rubbing her back, his other hand playing lightly with her hair. No words were spoken, they didn't need it. At least not right now.

He let her cry. He knew she needed this. He saw on her face how she struggled to put everything behind her, but couldn't. Emily is not used to this, he knows that. Of course, he does. She was so good at this job that sometimes he has to remind himself that she's human too – they're human too. And maybe that's what she needed right now. She needed to cry, to feel, to remind herself that she can be human. So, he let her be.

They fell asleep that way, the physical and mental exhaustion catching up with them. When Hotch woke up, it was already around 3am, and god did his neck hurt. Falling asleep on the couch is definitely not good idea, and he knew that. Yet, he does it still, accidentally at least. He looked to the brunette on his lap who was still dead to the word. He hated the fact that Emily cried herself to sleep, and he hated the fact that he let her. But she rarely cried that Hotch knew that if she did, she needed to let it out badly. And what's wrong with crying anyway? However, there could be something wrong if they continue to sleep on this goddamn couch.

"Emily" He said, trying to wake her up. But she wouldn't budge. "Sweetheart, wake up."

Finally, she groaned and turned to him. He watched intently as she slowly opened her eyes. "We shouldn't be sleeping here." He said, nudging her to get up.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, the hoarseness in her voice not going unnoticed.

"It's alright. C'mon." Emily didn't say anything and just followed through.

Hotch went to the bathroom to do his night routine after Emily. When he was done, he was expecting her to be in bed, but she wasn't. Instead, the door to the balcony was open and she was there, standing in the open cold. So he grabbed her _Russian_ blanket and walked towards her.

Emily then felt a warm blanket being put on her shoulders. This was immediately followed by Hotch's arm on her waist, pulling her closer to him. He figured it was time for her to talk, so he waited.

"I know we weren't supposed to make any promises. I made that mistake to her."

"Em-"

She shook her head, "I- I let my judgment be clouded by my emotions… but I'm human too, you know." Her tears started to fall.

"It's not your fault." He reminded, but she refused to accept that.

"I failed. I failed at protecting her. I had one damn job in that case. One single job of protecting her, make her feel safe and secured, and to find her. And I failed. If I fail doing just that one simple task, then what else is there?"

Hotch knew it was rhetorical. He knew Emily needed to vent it out, so he didn't say anything yet. Of course, he was right.

"I made it personal" she whispered.

"I- I saw myself in her." She admitted quietly after a while. "I saw a little girl who only wanted to be loved, but instead, she was trapped in a dark world where her worth is measurable. I was once that girl. All I ever wanted was to get out, but I couldn't. And somehow, I couldn't get her out too. I failed myself, I failed you, and I failed Camilla. And maybe, that's all I'll ever be – damaged failure." She said that last sentence so quietly that Hotch could barely hear.

His heart was shattering into million pieces as he listens to Emily degrade herself. He's seen her cry before, of course he has. He's seen her cry over cases and even over stupid little things, but nothing like this. He's never seen her so broken.

He turned to face her and cup her face in both of his hands. "Listen to me, you are a light in this dark, dark world, Emily. You do your job without any hesitation, always willing to give your life to anyone. You have the ability to make the victims feel safe instantly, and to make them forgive themselves. You connect with them unlike any other I've ever seen because you feel for them. A trait that can rarely be seen on people, let alone FBI agents. And that's because you have the biggest heart, you have enough love and kindness for everyone. You are a hero, Emily Prentiss. Please believe that."

She was looking into his eyes as he said these things, and he could see the sincerity in them, the intensity, the passion. "Thank you" she whispered, as her tears were still flowing non-stop. That was all she could say, because suddenly, her heart was overflowing with love for this man. So she hugged him – she hugged him so hard, never wanting to let go.

/

Emily woke up feeling a somehow a little lighter than she did yesterday. She's not gonna lie, all the crying and venting out helped, because truth be told, there are certain kinds of emotion that you just can't bottle up forever. It also helped – like a lot – that she had someone who would listen, someone who was willing to pick her back up when she was at her lowest.

Speaking of which, she felt the other side of the bed – no other person. She checked the time – 9:07 AM – _shit._ She quickly sat as she realized that she was late for work. But then, with another glance on her alarm clock, she noticed a note beside it.

 _Strauss approved the week-off. Went to get the kids and breakfast. I hope this day is better for you. Good morning, Sweetheart._

 _Aaron._

Well, it was definitely a good turn on her morning. With a smile on her face, she got out bed to brush her teeth. Then as she was walking down the stairs, she heard the door being opened and the little excited giggles of her favorite small persons.

"Emmy!" Little Jack excitedly greeted as he ran to give her a hug that Emily was more than willing to reciprocate. Then, Maya also joined the group hug fun.

"I missed you, Emmy" Maya said softly.

"I missed you guys too. So much." She said.

"We're skipping school!" Jack excitedly exclaimed as they pull away.

"Oh. You are?" She gave a shocking look at Maya, who was only smiling widely and nodding her head, then to Hotch who was also only smiling at them.

"Mhmm! Daddy said we can have a fun day!" Continued the young boy. Hotch knew Jack was only excited because none of his kids has ever skipped a school day for no reason. But today, he thought maybe he could make an exception. Both he and Emily needed something good to basically keep their sanity at bay, and this was it.

"Kids, why don't you set your things down in the room while we get breakfast ready." Hotch said, in which the two kids followed.

She made sure they were out of sight before she walked up to him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"Of course, sweetheart. I know you needed this. We both do." He said, looking intently into her eyes. "Now come on. Let's set this up. We have hungry little monsters to feed." She huffed. And those were good little monsters indeed.

It was indeed a good morning, especially when you have the Hotchner bunch with you. Emily was more than delighted to hear the happy stories and laughter from them. It also definitely made her smile and laugh. She's thankful because she knows they're slowly pulling her out from the dark corners of her mind again.

"So, uhm, I know it's already kind of late, but do you think maybe we could go to the beach?" She asked shyly like a little kid asking for a treat, as she and Hotch were finishing up the dishes. "I mean, not to swim because it's cold but just… I just really want to be near the ocean today. Maybe a little picnic too?"

Hotch couldn't help but smile at her. She was so cute when she's nervous like this. "Okay." He said nonchalantly, eyes back on the last clean dishes he was putting away.

"Really?" Emily responded with wide eyes looking at him.

Hotch chuckled. "Yes, really. Go pack a bag, some towels, and everything else you need. Let's go the beach."

Her face went from shocked to happy with huge dorky smile in 2 seconds, and honestly, Hotch would give anything just to see it again.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you a thousand times!" She said as she hugged him. Hotch could only laugh. A happy Emily was good. Definitely good. And god knows what he'd do just to keep her happy.

"You're welcome. Now, go! I'll get the kids ready." He sent her off with a kiss on her temple.

The kids were more than excited to be going to the beach that they got ready in record time, according to Hotch. So, with towels, blankets, bags of extra clothes, and a pack of fruits and food that they could find in Emily's stash in the back of the car, they headed on the more than 2-hour drive to Virginia Beach. However, a quick stop to Target for a soccer ball, Frisbee, a little junk food, and seeds for the birds, plus a stop at a Chinese restaurant for more food (Emily's idea), added another hour into their trip.

But they made it. It was a weekday, so it was not crowded. Even Hotch was able to find a very good parking spot. Emily, on the other hand, was able to find a perfect spot on the beach. Not too close to the water, but not too far too. Not too sunny, but also not too dark.

Hotch and Emily were sitting on the blanket while they watch Maya and Jack play closer to the water. Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Being near the ocean and just hearing the crash of the waves makes her soul so very happy. It's even one of her plans to buy a beach house in the near future. There's just something about this ambiance that's so peaceful and calming for her. This didn't go unnoticed to Hotch, but it made him smile though. Seeing a very relaxed Emily was a good thing, and being here is definitely a good thing. They never get to do this, not usually at least. Once in a blue moon perhaps. But he could tell that being here is good for the woman beside him and good for his kids, so he made a mental not to do this quite more often.

As Emily continues to watch the kids play, she couldn't help but think of Camilla. Suddenly, her smile disappeared. There could've been so many great opportunities for such a gifted girl. But it was all stolen from her. She thinks that while she may have had forgiven herself for what happened, there's a tiny part of her that has gone with that case, with Camilla. But there was also one thing about it that makes her heart jump a little when she remembers.

"What are you thinking?" Hotch's voice pulled her out of her trance.

She smiled, shaking her head, "It's silly."

"Tell me anyway."

Emily sighed and licked the corner of her mouth. A tell. "When Camilla called me _mama_ , I felt some kind of spark in my heart. I liked it, I really did. And for a moment I really wished I was." She whispered the last sentence.

Hotch looked at her, really looked at her, and carefully contemplated what he was about to say next. "I can see it, you know."

Her head snapped at him. "What?"

"You being a mom – I can see it. You'd be amazing." _You already are to Maya and Jack,_ he thought.

"Yeah?"

He took her hand in his and kissed it. "Yeah."


	10. Chapter 10

_He misses his kids, badly._ It's been two weeks straight of non-stop travelling for cases. Unfortunately, these unsubs are inconsiderate of their working hours. Heck, he even misses Emily and he works with her. He misses her outside of work. At work there was Hotch and Prentiss, not Aaron and Emily.

The heavens has blessed him with kids who have huge hearts. They understood and never got mad. Of course, it helped that they talked every day, but it wasn't the same. If he was not on a case, he was stuck in the office for paperwork or crappy meetings, like the budget one he had to attend to this morning. It took roughly 5 hours of his day, and now he has to discuss things regarding the budget with his team. Hence, their gathering the conference.

It was already past 3PM and he was explaining the budget cuts and raises on certain things that could affect the resources of the team.

"As long as they're not cutting the free coffee, I'm good." Reid chimed in.

Emily huffed, "Amen."

"The coffee's safe, don't worry." Hotch murmured without looking away from his file. While still in the middle of a discussion, Hotch's phone rang. He rejected the call, thinking that there's only a couple of minutes left before this is over and he'd just call back whoever it was. However, a second later, his phone rang again, interrupting his discussion with the team.

"Excuse me." He said as he walked out of the conference room. "Hotchner." He greeted the anonymous person on the line.

His mind went blank as the man on the other line, an officer he knew from the local PD, gave him the sad news.

"Yes, yes. I'll be right there. Thank you." He said as he hurriedly returned to the conference room. "I need to step out. It's my daughter, there was an accident." He said as he hurriedly gathered his files and walked out. The team was also left in shock. They were all instantly worried that they wanted to go with him, especially Emily. But they all knew that Hotch would let them know if he needed their help and that he would call with more details later.

Emily could not hide the grim on her face. Her heart feels like it would rip out of her chest. Could this be it? The time that it has gone too far. _I hope not. Please let her be okay._ If anything happens to Maya, she's not so sure what would happen to Hotch. For the first time since she met him, she finally thinks that this could be something that could break him. And she hates the fact she can't do anything about it, at least not right now.

 _What happened? Message back when you can. Xx_. That was the message she sent him, and now, like the rest of them, all she could do is wait.

/

The scene that he arrived into at the hospital was something that he didn't expect. He was expecting, or rather hoping, that it was just something minor. "Agent Hotchner." The officer who called him earlier greeted.

"Officer Lawson." He shook his hand. "What happened? Where's my daughter?"

"They're still checking on her."

"I need to see her." He demanded, trying to make his way into the emergency room, but another officer and a nurse was quick to stop him. "Agent, the doctor will be out to talk you in a minute, but let us attend to your daughter first." The nurse said, which he accepted, because her daughter was more important than his alpha male urges.

"Tell me what happened." He said to Lawson.

"We responded to a call regarding an accident on 8th St., your daughter was hit by a speeding car. It appears that she was on her way home from school at the time since she's still in her uniform." Lawson said.

Hotch tried to process this information. _Home from school?_ _Why was she walking home from school all alone?_ He thought, and arrived at the only possible explanation. _Haley._

"My daughter has never in her life walked to or from school. It's either her mother drives her or I do. Today, her mother is supposed to pick her up. Did you contact her?" He said, as composed as he could be.

"We tried multiple times, but she hasn't answered yet. One of our officers is still trying to contact her." Hotch was livid once hearing this. He's likely to punch someone on the face right at this moment.

"And the driver?"

"He's in a different hospital, but I can assure you that appropriate charges will be filed and he will go directly in custody once he's out of the hospital." Lawson carefully explained. Knowing Agent Hotchner also meant knowing his reputation. He was one of the FBI's bests and Lawson would never dare to make one wrong move, especially in a case involving him. "As a protocol, Agent Hotchner, a social worker from child protective services will talk to you and Ms. Brooks later today. She would also need to talk to your daughter when she's well enough."

"I understand. Thank you, Officer." Exactly at that moment, the doctor came into waiting room.

"Agent Hotchner, I'm Dr. Savannah Marshall. I attended to your daughter in the ER." They shook hands.

"How is she?"

Dr. Marshall could only sigh at the look on his face. Obviously he still wasn't aware of how the serious the situation was. "Your daughter suffered multiple injuries due to the strong impact. Our major concerns though are her right shoulder, her lungs, and a possible head trauma. We need to take an X-ray to assess the extent of the damage then we will take her to surgery, but from what we can assess right now, it's most likely shattered. As for her lungs, we've detected minor punctures in each one. These are the ones that can heal on their own, but of course, we would still need to monitor them and see if there are any progress in the coming days. Now for the most crucial part, we do not know for certain if, at some point that she was out there, she stopped breathing. This makes it complicated for us to know if there is a possible brain damage due to lack of oxygen. The only way to know for certain is to wait for her to wake up and do further tests. But right now, we will do a CT scan before she goes into surgery to see if there is any bleeding, swelling or pressure on her brain that we can most likely stop."

 _Too much. This is too much_. Too much for him and definitely too much for her daughter. She's a little girl. She's freaking 9. She shouldn't be here. His thoughts rambled as he tries to process all these information.

"Agent, you may see her now before we take her in." The doctor said. Of course he hurriedly followed her. But when was in there, he stopped. He stopped right at the foot of the stretcher she was in. This couldn't possibly be his daughter. His daughter was vibrant and full of life. This girl in front of him was almost lifeless, plugged in to numerous machines to keep her heart beating, stuck in a head-brace and full of bruises.

He walked beside her and gently held her hand, running a soothing thumb at the back of it. He gave her a kiss on her blood-stained forehead and whispered, "Maya, sweetie, daddy's here. I'm here now. You'll be okay. The nice doctors will fix you up and you'll come home with me, okay? I love you so much, sweetie. Just hang in there. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." As his tears started to fall, he heard a little moan from her, which made him smile a little. "There you are, my little fighter. Daddy will be here waiting for you. I love you." He gave her one last kiss before the doctor said it was time to go.

Hotch sat in the waiting room, hoping and praying for miracle – that her daughter will pull through. Heaven knows he would give _anything_ to trade places with her. He sat there alone, thinking of the things that could have been: if he just acted faster, if he had just pulled his kids out from that place, that woman, this might not have happened. Once again, Hotch felt like he had failed the most important people in his life, and look where they're at now.

"Agent Hotchner" Dr. Marshall greeted, and sat beside him. "We've done the scan and x-ray. The scan showed that there is a pressure on a part of her brain which is caused by liquid that's building up in there. Now, there is no need for surgery on that. What we will do is to make a small incision on her skull then insert a tube that would drain out the liquid and relieve the pressure. As for her shoulder, the X-ray confirmed that it is broken in 6 different places, we're preparing her for surgery now. Due to the pressure on her brain, we will keep her in a drug-induced coma after the surgery so we can monitor her brain activity."

"I understand. Please do everything you can to save her. I do not care how much it costs, just do it."

"Rest assured, Agent Hotchner. However, there is one more thing."

"What's that?"

"We found several bruises on her body that's inconsistent with the accident and in different stages of healing. While they are not life-threatening, it is protocol for us to report if we see these kind of things and we will have to relay this information to the social worker."

Hotch did not trust his voice this time so he just nodded. "I have to go back to your daughter now. Excuse me."

 _Too much. This is too much._ Where the heck is that social worker? Where the hell is his ex-wife? And he needs to call his lawyer, or maybe another lawyer, the best the one in the country. His mind was in a fog ever since he stepped his foot in this hospital. He's afraid he might break, the he might just lose it. But he can't. He has to stay strong and rational in all of this. But, for once, he admitted to himself that he can't do it alone. So he made that call.

 _Hey it's me. Uhm, I'm at MedStar Georgetown. Maya was airlifted here, there was an accident. It's… It's bad. Really bad. I really wish you're here. Please be here._

The desperation in his voice made Emily's eyes water. She was in the comfort room when he made the call so it went directly to voice mail. As the message ended, she quickly grabbed her things and headed out of the building.

/

Emily arrived less than an hour later. Her heart shattered at the sight of her best friend sitting all alone in the waiting room, looking so lost. They hugged, but no words were said. No words were needed. Right now, they sit side by side as they wait for news of Maya.

A few moments later, a frantic voice can be heard from the hallway. Then, a sight of a woman he never wanted to see appeared.

"Aaron!" She said. His head snapped up at her, but his face immediately softened when he took a look at his son being carried by his mother.

"Daddy!" Jack immediately ran up to him.

"Hey, buddy!"

"Is Maya okay?"

"I don't know yet, bud." And that was the truth. He doesn't know anything anymore, and he hated it. So he just hugged his son again, a little tighter this time, afraid that he might slip out of him too.

"Aaron I-" Haley started but she was immediately cut off.

"Jack, buddy, why don't you go with Emmy first. Find you a snack and some for me too?" He said, looking at his son solemnly and then to Emily, who gave him a tight smile back. Knowing all too well that what is about to happen is not for Jack's innocent eyes, ears and mind, and frankly, not for hers too.

"C'mon, Jack." She took his tiny hand in hers. "Maybe we can find something for Maya at the gift shop too." Hotch watched as Emily and Jack walked out of the room hand in hand.

"I'm sorry, I was-" Haley whispered after the silence became unbearable.

"No. You don't get to be sorry. You don't get to be sorry because _sorry_ does not bring back time. Your _sorry_ will not bring back time that's being loss in Maya's life right now. Your _sorry_ will not heal all her injuries and all the pain she's feeling. What happened before, between us and this marriage, that was all on me. I understood why you left and took the kids with you – why you wanted a divorce. I've accepted that. But this – this is all in you."

"Aaron-"

"I will never understand why you would want to hurt our daughter like that, why would you lash on her like that. Are you still mad at me? Because if you are, you have every right to be, but you do not have any right to take it out on our daughter. This explains all of it – the change in her behavior, her nightmares. I confronted her and she told me to let it go because she doesn't want you to get in trouble. That's how much she loves you, and you don't even deserve it. You don't deserve her."

He sighed, already wanting her to disappear. "You're lucky I'm not charging you with child abuse, out of respect for my children. But I don't want you anywhere near them. I'm filing for full custody, and you will never lay a hand on them ever again."

"You have no right to do that. You do not have the right to take my kids away from me." Haley said in a stern voice, eyes piercing against Aaron's. "And just how are you planning to do it, Aaron? Raise two kids all alone with that schedule of yours. You're never home, you're always buried in your files. The judge will never even favor you."

"And let's see if the judge favors you – a mother who hurts her children. See you in court." Hotch couldn't bear to be in the same room with this woman so he walked out and stood in the hallway. A few moments later, the social worker approached him. He sighed. _Great, another conversation with Haley._

This one was less confrontational though. The social worker took statements from them and asked questions, which Hotch felt somehow incriminating. But he had no choice. There was a process, and if he wanted to keep his children, he must go through with it.

Once the social worker left satisfied with their statements, Haley has also left the building. Aaron made it clear that he doesn't want her anywhere near the kids anymore. Once she was gone, he sent a message to Emily that it was safe her and Jack to go back to the waiting room. Aaron was surprised when she didn't come back alone though. The team, who was waiting at the cafeteria with her and Jack, was with them. After comforting hugs and words were shared, they all waited together for several more hours.

"Agent Hotchner?" The doctor greeted, alerting everyone in the waiting room. Everyone stood up, except Emily who had a sleeping Jack on her lap.

"How is she?"

The doctor sighed.


	11. Chapter 11

24 hours has passed since Maya's surgery. She's out of coma and was then transferred to a private room. However, she's not out of the woods yet. There's still so much waiting to do. And Hotch hates the waiting. God knows he does. He needs answers and he needs them now, so he can fix things and make everything better. But that's just not the way it goes around here. He can't _fix_ this.

The lack of sleep does not help either. Although he spent the night at home, thanks to the convincing powers of Emily, he still was not able to get a restful sleep. Speaking of Emily, _bless her heart,_ he doesn't know what he'd do without her. She came home with him and Jack and god was he thankful that she did. Emily is a calming presence for him and Jack. They didn't talk very much that night. Emily understood that it was an emotionally exhausting day for Hotch so she didn't push. And what was she supposed to say anyway? She knew that no words could comfort him right now. For Hotch, though, he didn't need any words because her actions shows what she wanted to say and that was enough for him.

Now, Emily's back at work on his insistence, because they were already one agent down. But not before dropping Jack to school and making a promise to pick him up after. Garcia already volunteered to look after him in the event the team gets called for a case. And he's back in a surprisingly comfortable recliner chair in Maya's private room in the pediatric ward, waiting and praying for his daughter to pull through. _He just needs her to wake up,_ to open her eyes, because if she doesn't, then it could be over. He remembers very well what the doctor said last night.

 _**_ _FLASHBACK_ _**_

 _"_ _Agent Hotchner?" The doctor greeted, alerting everyone in the waiting room. Everyone stood up, except Garcia who had a sleeping Jack on her lap._

 _"_ _How is she?"_

 _The doctor sighed._

 _"_ _You have one little fighter over there, Agent Hotchner." She gave a quick little smile. "She went into a minor cardiac arrest, but we've stabilized her now. We've managed to repair her shoulder. It's going to be a slow process before she can regain full function of it again, but she'll get there. We also made the incision into her skull in order to drain the liquid that's building up in there. We'll keep her in a drug-induced coma for 24hours and keep her in the ICU for the time being. She's not out of the woods yet, but she's fighting."_

 _And for the first time that day, Hotch breathed a sigh of relief. At least for now he knows that she's here, her heart's beating, she's breathing and she's fighting. And that's enough for him as of the moment._

 _The doctor told him that it might take 24-36 hours for her to wake up. However, if it takes longer than that, it could be a sign of a very serious brain damage and there's a great possibility that she might not wake up at all. That scares him, and he doesn't want to think about that. He wants to keep the vibe of the room positive because he believes that the positive vibes might transmit to Maya and help her feel lighter and hopefully help her wake up. It sounds silly, but hey, it doesn't hurt anyone. It's the reason why the team, especially Garcia, insisted on decorating her room a little. There's banners, balloons, cards from her friends at school, and stuff toys and flowers, Emily even brought Maya's blanket and Cuppy the stuffed bunny to keep her company in that hospital bed, and it really did help make the room feel lighter._

 _/_

Hotch spent most of the day working on files and reports that he brought along with him. He also spent some great amount of time talking to his lawyer about the custody case. Then there were the phone calls from Emily, which honestly was his favorite part of the day. The rest of it was spent beside Maya. She still has not opened her eyes, but he maintained contact. He talked to her, gave her kisses, and touched her hand. He even put Emily on speaker because the woman wanted to talk to her. He likes to believe that she can hear and feel them. Nothing wrong with that.

The sound of the door pulled him out of his thought. He smiled though as Emily entered the room.

"Hi." She whispered and gave him a hug.

"Hi."

"Brought you some food." She said, placing the takeout on the little table they had. "Jack's with Penelope, I hope you don't mind. I didn't want him to contract any virus or infections around here. But if you like, I'll bring him with me tomorrow." She explained as she prepare the food for him.

Hotch smiled. She was always so thoughtful. He misses Jack, but she was right, young Jack is still very prone to virus and infections. Although he trusts that this place is sanitary, he doesn't want to take any chances.

He stood up and walked. He hugged her. "No, sweetheart. I don't mind." He hugged her so tight he didn't want to let go. He looked at her, "And thank you, for everything. I don't-" He sighed. "I don't even know what I'll do without you."

That was all the declaration they could handle for now. "Good thing then, because you're not going to get rid of me that easily." She replied, which made him chuckle. It was a glorious sound to hear for Emily. "Now please eat your dinner before it gets cold." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and murmured another thank you before eating his meal.

Emily, on the other hand, took Hotch's spot on the recliner beside Maya's bed. She gently touched her forehead, making her presence known. She would hold her hand but her right her arm is on a bulky sling and the other is full of IV incisions and some other complicated wires. "Hi, sweet girl." She quietly said. "You're really catching up on sleep, huh? Can't blame you though. You don't get much sleep when you get older." Hotch silently laughed at that. Typical Emily and her quirks.

"But we miss you, you know. We're all waiting for you to wake up, and if you could do that soon, that would be great. I promise to let you have longer naps if you like, and so does your dad. I was thinking that when you're fully recovered, maybe we can go on a trip. For the holidays, perhaps? Paris is beautiful in December. Then you'll finally see in real life what I tell you in my stories. Then maybe we can go around Europe. You know what they say, a girl is never fully well-traveled. There's always places to explore to last a whole lifetime. Your dad can come too, if he's nice, right?"

"Hey!" He playfully scolded.

Emily laughed but ignored him. "Jack says he misses you very much and he loves you. He even said that you can choose what movie to watch on your next movie night. Aunt Penny gave you a lovely card right here. It has dogs in it. And guess what? It's a musical card. We never see those often, huh? Oh. This may be a secret, but Uncle Spence is buying you that Star Wars 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle set that you've been wanting. Now I'm thinking if I should get the 10,000-piece world map one. Then we can do it together while your dad sits in his office with his files and be boring, huh?"

Hotch just listened while he finished his meal. The one-sided conversation did make his heart feel lighter. Of course, it did. It's Emily. Emily is a light in this world. She sees both sides on everything, but only focuses on the good. That's just how she is.

"Maya, things are going to be very different for you and Jack now. But I promise you, there's no more pain, no more violence, no more anger. All is good now, so please, please come back to us." She pleaded at the young girl. Her voice almost choking at the last part.

Hotch was no better. He was cleaning up the remnants of his dinner when he heard this, and he had to stop what he was doing because he had to try so hard to fight the tears. How did he even deserve this amazing woman?If he was looking for a sign from someone above this is it. His was breaking yet fluttering at the same time.

He walked towards her and pulled her up from the chair. Without letting go of her hand, he sat down and pulled her down on his lap. Emily didn't protest his move because first, she missed him, and second, well she missed him a lot. So she happily curled against his body. Both were content in comfortable silence. That was until they heard a sound that seemed to come from Maya.

Emily immediately stood up, followed by Hotch, and they both stood by her bed. They watched as the little girl struggled to open her eyes. "That's it, sweetie. Open your eyes. You're okay." Hotch cheered his daughter. And open her eyes she did. Both Hotch and Emily gave out a sigh of relief.

"Maya. Hi, sweetie." Hotch said to the girl as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. However, all Maya did was give him a look. A look that both Emily and Hotch cannot decipher. Her stare seemed… there was no other movement from her.

"I'm gonna call the doctor." Emily whispered and quickly left, also feeling the panic. She came with the doctor and a couple of nurses.

Hotch and Emily stepped back as the doctor and two nurses checked and prodded on the little girl, who still seemed oblivious of the situation despite being conscious.

"Agent Hotchner," the doctor approached them as the two nurses finished checking up on Maya. "It is a huge progress that she's finally awake. Her vitals are stable for now. As for her unresponsiveness, I don't see any physical problem that may cause it, however, I will order for another brain scan for her so we can see if there's any problem we missed. She can hear us well and see us, and her sensitivity and reflexes are okay too. I've seen this quite a few times, mostly due trauma and to the body still recovering. So unless we see any problem with the scan, it's nothing to worry about. In a few days maybe we can start her therapy, get her to sit up and move a little."

"Alright, thank you, doctor." Hotch and Emily both went back to Maya's bedside.

"Hi, baby." Hotch whispered. "I'm so glad you're finally awake. Look, Emmy's here too."

Emily huffed at Hotch's soft but enthusiastic tone. But when Maya's eyes darted to her, her heart jumped. Thank the heavens! "Oh sweet girl. Thank you for coming back to us." She whispered, tears on the brim of her eyes.

Hotch then noticed Maya trying to fight her fluttering eyes. She was tired again, and even though they only had a few seconds, it was enough for them because they know they have their entire lives ahead of them. "It's okay, sweetie. You can go to sleep. I'll be right here. It's okay."

And when her eyes finally closed, they both whispered "I love you" to her.

It was then getting late, so even though she didn't want to say good bye, Emily had to go back to Jack. An obnoxious little voice inside her screams Why are you doing this? You're not even family. You're just a convenience. Get out now! Run now!But the rational part of her mind and her heart, in general, tells her to stay, because with them she feels like a part of the family. And even if she wasn't, she'd still do anything for them because Hotch is her friend.

"I have to go. Jack must be getting anxious." She said quietly, standing up after giving Maya one more kiss on the cheek.

Hotch nodded and also stood up. He walked up to her and held her hand. "Em, I.." He started, voice almost a whisper, but he can't seem to find the words. There's so many things he wanted to say right at this moment.

Seeing him struggle, Emily stepped closer and hugged him. "It's okay, Aaron." She gave him a kiss on the jaw before pulling back. "Call later for Jack?" She asked smiling, and he nodded

Emily cupped his face with both hands and ran her thumbs over his cheeks, "Hey, I know it's been rough, but remember that everything's slowly getting better now. Maya's okay. So please try to relax a little, okay?"

He nodded, and this time, it was his turn to hug her and give her a kiss. "Thank you, sweetheart. Be safe."

 _Just a little more time, Em. I just need to sort this out. Please, don't be in love with someone else. Just a little more time._


	12. Chapter 12

Maya made incredible progress in the next few days. She started having therapy to help strengthen her mobility again, despite the broken shoulder, which may take a few more weeks before they start therapy on it. She also started taking visitors, and of course, Emily and the team were constants.

Hotch had also filed for full custody of his kids and moved for the extinguishment of Haley's parental rights. Right now, everything seems easy because he's on indefinite leave from work. However, when he goes back to work, the real struggle will start. Thankfully, his mother volunteered to move back in DC, a few blocks down his apartment to help with the kids.

His main worry though is that Maya is still not talking. She's compliant, nods her head for yes, shakes her head for no and cries when she's in pain or when she's feeling something she doesn't like or when the doctor or the nurses poke or prod at her. Hotch couldn't really know, and it's breaking his heart. It's always painful for a parent to see their child crying and they don't even know how to help them because they do not know what's wrong. And for Hotch and his alpha male tendencies, all he wants to do is fix it. Fix all of this and then take his kids home and move forward.

They tried it with a child psychologist a couple of times but those only lasted a few minutes because she would start to cry. They were told that it's due to the trauma, and the best that they could do is support her and make her feel safe again. That they'd try again next time, with drawings first maybe.

Physical Therapy is a happier affair though. He could tell Maya liked doing therapy, first because she doesn't cry when the therapist and nurse come in, and second, it is when they'd get more responses from her. She would respond to the instructions given to her. It may be simple things like "Wiggle your toes" or "wave your hand" or to more progressive things such as sitting or standing up with little help, but to Hotch and especially for Maya, this is what they needed. Progress, big or small, it didn't matter.

/

Little Jack was technically skipping as he walk the hospital hallways hand in hand with Emily, a little gift bag on his other hand. This is his first time visiting his big sister since the accident and to say that he was excited was an understatement. Every night before bed he'd made a card for Maya, which Emily would bring to the hospital when she visits after work. But it was a weekend and Maya was doing much better so Hotch decided that maybe Jack's presence would help lift her spirits up a little more. Maybe it will even get her to talk.

As for that aspect, Emily already briefed Jack that Maya may not speak to him. To not hold it against her since she's still recovering. But she made sure he knows that Maya loves him just the same, that it might just take a while for her to get back to her old self. If she gets back to her old self.

Jack though was still excited just at the fact that his sister will be okay, eventually, and that he can see her and his dad again. He really missed his dad. And his mom. He loves his Emmy and loves staying with her, but of course, a four-year old would still want his parents after sometime. One night he asked Emily why he wasn't staying with his mother and where had she gone. But all Emily said to him was to go ask his dad when he sees him because he has better answers for him. This was, of course, very confusing to his young mind, but he didn't push, especially because he didn't want Emily to get upset. But now he's just really excited to see his dad and sister again.

"Daddy!" Jack greeted quietly as his father opened the door of the hospital room.

"Hey, buddy!" Hotch greeted, immediately carrying his son in his arms. It felt like ages since he last saw him. "I've missed you." He whispered, holding him close.

"I miss you too, Daddy! It's been ages!" Jack exclaimed, which earned a chuckle from the two adults. "I want to give Maya my gift!" He said, wiggling his way out of his father's arms, and running off to Maya's bedside.

"Oh. She's asleep." Jack said, the disappoint clear in his voice.

Hotch stood beside him, and Emily sat on the edge of Maya's bed. "Yes, she is. She needs a lot of rest. But she'll wake up later and then you can give her your gift, okay?" He compromised to the little boy, while lifting him on his lap as he sat on the chair.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Where has mommy gone?"

Hotch sighed and looked at Emily, who looked at him sympathetically. She did tell him about Jack asking where Haley was, so he at least had a head's up. Despite that, he still didn't know how he'd explain to his young son that his mother abused his older sister, hence why they're at this hospital right now.

However, when Hotch took too long to answer, Jack opened the topic for him. "Did she go away because she's angry at Maya?"

Hotch and Emily looked at each other, both surprised at the young boy's question.

"Has mommy been angry at Maya for a long time?" He carefully asked.

"I guess so. I don't know how long."

"That's alright, bud. Was mommy ever angry at you?"

Jack took a moment to answer, trying to remember his mommy ever being so mad at him. "No. Only at Maya. One time I broke a glass and Maya went to clean it up so I won't step on the glass, but mommy came in. I said sorry to her but she said it's not my fault. She said big sisters should've been more helpful to little brothers. So she got angry at Maya and she went on time out and got no dinner."

"What was mommy usually angry about?"

"Well, she gets angry when there's no breakfast or dinner ready. Or when Maya forgets to do chores. Or when mommy says she's too slow."

Emily was trying so hard to keep her tears at bay. Just hearing this kind of story from an innocent young boy is heartbreaking enough. But for it to also happen to an amazing little girl? She's quite sure there's no word for it.

"Jack, I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" He asked and Jack nodded solemnly. He sighed for the nth since Jack walked in. "Your mommy has been a very good mommy to you, right?"

"Uh-huh! She's the bestest mommy ever!"

"I see that. But your mommy has also made some bad choices that affected all of us."

"Like hurting Maya?"

"Yes, like hurting Maya. And remember what I said when you make bad choices?"

The young boy nodded, "Mhmm. You have to be 'sponsable."

"Responsible, yes. When you're a grown up and you've made bad choices that affect other people badly, there are more consequences that you have to be responsible about. Sometimes, the police gets involved because you've hurt other people badly."

Hotch gave his son a moment to process all of it. This is already too much for Jack's young mind and heart.

"Is mommy going to jail?" He suddenly asked. Hotch secretly wished that she is, because there is no forgiveness into what she did.

"No, buddy. I don't think mommy's going to jail. However, since she made bad choices that hurt your sister, and even you, she has to face the consequences and be responsible for it. That includes not seeing you and Maya for quite a long time."

"For how long?"

"Well, it's going to be a while. But I want you to always remember that she loves you very much, okay?"

"Okay daddy. I love her too. I always tell her."

"And you don't have to worry because you guys will live with me now. That's fun, right?"

"Mhmm. And Emmy too! She's fun, dad! She lets me have ice cream and sleep beside her. And we watch movies before bed!"

He looked at Emily who gave him a shy smile. "She is fun, huh?"

Little did they know that Maya was listening to their conversation. She was already awake but kept her eyes closed so as not to interrupt her dad's talk with Jack. But now she decided to open her eyes, which did not escape Emily's quick reflexes.

"Hey, sweet girl. How are you feeling?" She asked, lightly rubbing her leg. Of course, she didn't expect an answer, but who knows, right?

Hotch stood up and gently placed Jack on the edge of Maya's bed. "Hey, look who's here." He softly said.

Maya turned her to see a smiling Jack. "Hi, Maya! I missed you! I want to hug you but daddy said you're still in pain. That's okay, though. I can give you lotsa hugs when you're better. Right, daddy?"

"That's right, bud!" To everyone surprise, Maya actually gave Jack a smile. A real one. Well, it was a quick one, but still, it was a smile.

Emily felt her heart flutter. Finally, a response from her other than tears and blank stares. For the first time since the accident, she finally thought that maybe they're going to be alright.

/

Maya was feeling good the entire time Jack was there and it was a treat for all of them. She even sat up the entire time. Jack was delighted to give his gift. A storybook called Guess How Much I Love You. It was her favorite when she was Jack's age. Jack said he wanted to give her a new one since they forgot theirs at the old house. "Maybe if you read it again before bed, you'll feel much better. You told me it made you feel better."

Hotch was a crying mess on the inside. He didn't show it. Of course, he didn't. But deep inside, his heart was fluttering at the amount love his kids have for each other. He's not taking all the credit, not at all. Their mother played an important role in raising them. And they are great kids, so he's giving her that.

It was a rather good afternoon for the Hotchners and the honorary Hotchner. That was until Emily decided it was time to go home. Jack immediately sported that pout. The pout that Hotch knew threatens a full-blown tantrum. "Daddy, can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked quietly.

Hotch wanted to say yes. God knows he did. But that would mean he'd have to go home. It's not like Jack can just sleep in the hospital with them.

"Jack-" He started, but surprised when Maya cut in.

"Dad. S'okay." Maya whispered. Both adults turned to look at her. They wanted to cry, they really did. Well, Emily already was. But she quickly composed herself and wiped her tears away.

"Maya" His voice hoarse as tears threaten to fall.

She gave them a faint nod, "s'okay."

Emily could see that Hotch was conflicted. He knew he wanted to stay with Maya, especially now that she's talking, but she could tell from his eyes that he also wanted to be with Jack. This would mean leaving Maya alone for the night. So being the angel that she is, she offered to stay.

"Aaron, if you want to go with Jack, I can stay here for the night."

"Em, I can't impose like that."

"It's not imposing, Aaron." She said carefully. "I'm offering."

Finally, Hotch and Jack went home for the night, to the young boy's delight, while Emily and Maya were left at the hospital.

"You still feeling okay?" She asked the girl.

She nodded and seemed to move to the side of her bed. "Sit beside me?" She asked quietly.

"Okay." Maya carefully rested her head on Emily's shoulder while the woman very carefullyput her arms around her. She kissed the top of her head and whispered "I'm so glad you came back to us."

"I ruined everything" Maya whispered, sound so broken.

Emily looked down on her and asked "What do you mean?"

"I ruined their family. I ruined it for Jack. I ruined a family I'm not even a part of." She said as tears started to flood from her eyes.

Emily's heart was breaking. How can a 9-year old girl blame herself for something she's never done? How can she feel so much guilt without doing something wrong? Now she understood why Maya wanted her father to leave. She understood that Maya is having a hard time opening up to him because she feels so much guilt.

Now Emily feels nothing but hatred for their mother. How could she do this to their daughter? They chose her in the first place. And she knew the story. Haley and Hotch wanted to start a family but she was having a hard time getting pregnant. Aaron's busy schedule as a prosecutor added to the stress and pressure. After 3 years, they've decided to adopt. Hence, Maya was adopted as an infant and became the first Hotchner child. All is well. Jack was a surprise and a miracle, as they would say. But that did not mean they loved her less. Maybe times have changed. But nevertheless, Maya is a Hotchner and she belongs to their family, whether Haley likes it or not.

"Sweetheart, listen to me" Emily said with a soft but stern voice. She held her chin up so she can look her in the eyes. "You are a Hotchner. You belong to this family no matter what. Your dad loves you very much, you know that, right? Your mom didn't make the best choices. But I promise you, you are a part of this family, Maya. Aaron would be so lost without you. Please don't ever blame yourself. Do not beat yourself up for something you had no control over. It's not your fault."

"But Jack – He's so confused, he can't see mom anymore. It's not fair."

"Oh honey. Jack is very young, but he will understand. He understands. What's not fair is the both of you suffering in the cruel hands of someone who should've loved and cared for you unconditionally. Do you hear me?" She asked sternly.

Maya nodded. She trusts Emily. She knows Emily is a comfort zone, a confidant that she could always come to and never disappoints her. Sometimes she even wished that Emily was her mother.

"What's going to happen to me now?" The young girl asked, her voice so distant.

Emily sighed. "What's going to happen is you focus on getting better. And when you are better, you'll come home to your dad's house, like Jack does now. Your dad has to go back to work eventually but guess what? Grandma will be moving in next week so she can take care of you guys when dad's not around. Grandma's fun, right?"

Maya seemed to have accepted that. "Yeah- yeah. She's fun. I love her."

"Good. Everything's better now, sweetheart. I promise." She whispered.

Then there was a long period of silence. She actually thought Maya already fell asleep. But just as she decided to move out of the bed so the little girl can get comfortable. She heard her mumble "Don't leave me, okay?"

"Okay." She whispered again.

She was mostly sure Maya was already asleep, but she did talk during it. And she heard her say probably the most entertaining thought of the day. "Dad likes you. He's just stubborn."

And Emily couldn't help but chuckle. _What do you know? I like him too._


	13. Chapter 13

After spending more than a month in the hospital, Maya finally headed home. To her dad's house, that is, and boy was she glad. Hotch already came back to work 2 weeks prior to her release, just a few days after his mom arrived. His mother ended up living in the same building as them, but she opted to get a bigger apartment 2 floors up. She said he should have too, if he's not thinking of getting a real house anytime soon. He loves his mother, but she really is something. Headstrong, decisive, and stern but very maternal and loving.

The team had prepared a little party for Maya and Jack, especially since Maya had to celebrate her 10th birthday at the hospital, at the insistence of their _favorite uncle_ , Rossi. Her birthday was roughly two weeks after the accident, but they only got to it now since she was in the hospital and they were always away on cases in between that. Maya didn't mind though. She's happy enough just to have great people around her, especially her family.

Hotch, Maya, Jack and his mother, who goes by the nickname _Sharp_ , arrived at Rossi's a little late. All because Jack had an accident in the tub. But really, he just wanted to get his toy but he fell in. Already dressed and ready. It was Garcia who greeted them.

"Oh look at this beautiful bunch! Welcome Welcome! Come on in. Rossi is at the back with the rest of the gang."

"Thank you, Garcia." Hotch nodded courteously.

"Of course, G-Man. Hey kids! There's a beautiful fountain out there with the dancing lights!" At this point, the kids were jumping and tugging their grandma to see the fancy fountain.

"Uhm, not that it's any of my business, but I thought Emily was coming with you guys?" She asked, raising an eyebrow to her boss.

Aaron's own eyebrows furrowed upon hearing this. "She's not here? She told me she'd be driving here early so she could help with the set up."

"Boss-man, with all due respect, I would not ask you where Emily was if she was here. Now, please call our princess and make sure she's okay because she's never late to anything. And while you're doing that, I'm going to get more drinks."

Now that he thought of it, Emily did seem more distant in the past weeks. Their communication at the office was minimal, mostly about work. She has never spent a day or night with him ever since Maya got home from the hospital. He misses her, badly. Knowing Emily, it was unlike her to just suddenly pull away from him. His kids missed her too, and would often ask him when _Emmy_ would come and visit. He tried to think if he did or said something wrong, but he knew for sure they were okay. He thought they were okay.

"Hey! Everything okay?" He greeted as the brunette answered his call.

"Uhm yeah" She sounded breathless. "I – uhm – I suddenly had car trouble so I had to take a cab. Not easy on a Saturday night, I've realized."

He scoffed at that, but still very worried. "Why didn't you call me? I could've picked you up."

She sighed, "doesn't matter now. I'm about 2 minutes away. See you!"

"I'll wait out for you." He said before ending the call. Something was definitely up and he was getting to the bottom of it.

As promised, Emily arrived 2 minutes later looking stunning as always. Well, he thought she looked extra stunning in that royal blue dress that hugs her body in all the right places.

"Hey!" He greeted her as she walked the pathway of Rossi's front porch towards him.

"Hi!" She whispered as he hugged him. "Do I look okay?" She asked, and his brows furrowed in confusion. "I mean, commuting is not really ideal on a Saturday night. I bet my make-up has melted off and my face probably looks oily now."

He looked at her intently for a moment. "Sweetheart, I have no idea what you're talking about. You look beautiful, make-up or not, which I believe has not melted off, by the way. But you look beautiful."

She gave him a short smile before they walked inside. Hotch felt like she didn't believe him. So he pulled her closer to him, gave her waist a little squeeze and said, "I mean it," while looking intently into her eyes.

Emily could see his sincerity. "I know. Thank you." Of course, what did she expect? This is Aaron. Her Aaron. Okay, not technically hers but still. Aaron would not lie to her. _Lie_. That's exactly what she just did. Everything was not fine. She's been bothered and scared for the past week. But he didn't need to know that. God, he already has a lot in his hands. Her problems are not his problems. Besides, she a freaking FBI agent, she can handle this on her own. Aside from that, she thought whatever is happening is too dangerous to get Hotch involved. She knows for a fact that no matter how they try to protect them, his family will also get involved once he does. So, there's no way she's risking it.

/

If anyone knew how to throw a party, it would be David Rossi. Granted it was not a children's party, but still it was a fabulous one. Maya did not want a real party anyway. When asked, all she said was a nice dinner with everyone. But of course, _nice dinner_ for David Rossi means full catering services, fancy fountain with dancing lights, a beautiful set up, a dance floor, a DJ, an official photographer, plus a humongous cake for the 10-year old. Hotch reminded him to just tone it down. That they'd be fine with a barbeque and his famous pasta. But Rossi was having none of it. Though he did not want to, he ended up reminding Hotch how he almost lost his daughter before her 10th birthday, that this was something worth celebrating. Plus, they've been engrossed on so much horrible cases in the past month that they needed something good. And this was something good.

"Thank you, Dave. Really. I do not know how I'll-" Hotch started but he was cut off.

"Aaron, don't. Okay? Just enjoy. Tonight is all about celebrating life and each other." Dave argued as he sipped his favorite scotch. "And maybe even love?" He said to Hotch, but his eyes darting to Emily who was dancing with Morgan.

"Dave." Hotch warned.

"Look, I may not have the best track record when it comes to marriage, but I know real love when I see it. And I see it right now, Aaron. It could be something good. You're good for each other, we all see that."

"I'll handle it."

"When?"

"Soon."

"That's my boy!" He gave Hotch a pat on the shoulder. "Make it quick though. In our job, you'll never know. And if you both need some place private to talk, the library at the second floor is open for you. The terrace there has a beautiful view of the city. Perfect ambiance."

Hotch really did mean it when he said _soon._ Actually, he's planning on starting it right now. With good music and the dance floor.

/

"May I?" Hotch cut in between a dancing Morgan and Emily.

"Really, man. I'm flattered but I don't dance with dudes." Morgan teased.

Hotch tried to scowl at him but failed when he heard Emily laugh. It was rather impossible not to smile when you hear Emily laugh, at least for him. It's a lovely sound to hear.

"Right, smart ass." He answered Morgan who also laughed but brought Emily's hand to his.

Once he had her hand in his, he placed his other hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer. Then, he place their joined hands on his chest. Emily, on the other hand, tried to pull away. But she just couldn't. It's like something inside of her gravitates towards him. So, she sighed and just enjoyed having him this close again.

"I missed you" Hotch murmured as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Something he knew Emily loved.

She sighed again, softer one this time. Which meant that she was starting to relax. "Missed you too." She whispered. Emily also tightened her grip on Hotch's shirt, which didn't go unnoticed to him. He knew also what this meant. She would do this usually when he hugs her after a nightmare, or after a horrible case. In general, he deduced that she would do it when she's scared. _Red flag #1._ There's definitely something going on.

They swayed to the music, seeming to get lost in their own world. They do this sometimes, get into their own world. The team noticed it too, especially during their night outs. First it starts as a conversation between the two profilers, wherein the rest of them could butt in. But before they know it, they're in their own world talking about god knows what. They didn't mind it though because they can all see how happy Hotch and Emily are. And _happy_ is good.

"Sweetheart, tell me what's wrong." He quietly said. Emily looked up at him, though she's not surprised. She knew he'd feel something was off. She tried her best, she really did.

She buried her face on his chest and shook her head. _She can't._ "Em" He prodded.

"I don't know." She murmured, muffled by his shirt. It wasn't really a lie, but not the truth either. She herself can't still decipher what really is going on. So she thinks she can still handle it, even made herself promise to tell Hotch when she can't.

Hotch looked down and saw that tears were starting to form on her eyes. He knew she didn't like to cry in front of people. So his hand moved to soothingly run through her hair, which was also his attempt to somehow keep her almost teary face from everyone's view.

/

"I'm thinking of locking them in the closet until they get it together. What do you think?" Garcia said as she sipped her margarita. She and JJ were standing by the fountain, observing their two closest friends.

"Hmm. I'd say let's get them drunk first." JJ said.

"I've considered that before, but I'm a child so." Maya suddenly chimed in, appearing on JJ's other side. The older women both gave her an incredulous look. "They are literally the male and female counterparts of stubborn."

"I guess that's a no on the drunken 7 minutes in heaven idea." Garcia commented.

"They look really good together, don't they?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, and they're happy too. I mean, dad smiles a lot when she's around." The young girl pointed.

"They need to get it together already."

"Yeah preferably before I'm 30." Maya said, which made JJ and Garcia laugh.

/

"Come home with me tonight." Hotch said, basically murmuring into Emily's hair.

Emily knew it was not a question. But she feels conflicted. She's not even sure what is going on and she would not dare to risk their safety, especially the kids. But she also knew that she'll let herself be convinced. And if Hotch's move to pull her closer to him and kiss her forehead were not indications that he's basically ordering her to stay with him, she doesn't know what is.

"I look like a mess" she said, letting out a humorless laugh.

Hotch gave her a confused look. _What is this woman talking about?_ But then his face softened when he saw her unsuccessfully trying to wipe her tears. Maybe this was also their cue to end the dance. So, still holding Emily close to him, he led them inside so she can freshen up in the comfort room, which Emily was beyond thankful for. But before he let her go, he whispered, "You look perfect, sweetheart."

"Thank you. Go back, have fun with the kids. I'll be out in a minute." She said as she gave him a reassuring smile.

Knowing that Emily would need some time alone to compose herself, he followed her order and opted to get a drink for them.

"Is Em okay?" JJ asked, suddenly appearing beside him.

He sighed, "I have no idea."

"You know, now that I think of it, she seemed more tired and jumpy in the past week."

"Yeah, I've noticed it too, but she won't tell me anything." Emily is the queen of compartmentalization, up to a point that it frustrates everyone because they can't read her micro expressions. It's like you'll never know if she had a good night's sleep or a night full of nightmares because she shows up at work at the same time for years. You'll never know if a case really has bothered her in some way unless she tells you. _She's that good._ So for her to even be this jumpy at little things is telling something.

"If I know anyone who can get through to her, it's you." JJ said truthfully. Basically begging him to help their friend because she can't.

The rest of the evening was a happier affair for everyone. There were games, cakes, gifts, magic and lots of dancing. Hotch had watched his kids all throughout and he realized that he had not seen them smile and laugh this much in one night since the accident. He also realized how happy his team looked. For the past months all they were seeing was death and gore and grim. It was nice to actually have something good after a while. It was great for their sanity.

Emily felt a little better after her dance with Hotch. She felt like she's carrying this heavy weight on her shoulders, but she realized that when Hotch was around, she'd feel lighter and better. The weight is still there. It will always be there until everything is resolved. But Hotch makes everything better for her, even for a short while. So when she came back from the comfort room, she was much happier. She was chatting and laughing with everyone, that even JJ forgot how show looked just a moment ago. She played with the kids and danced a lot more. For a short while, it felt like she didn't have any problems, not a care in the world.

/

Emily came home with the Hotchners after the party. However, Hotch was still unsuccessful in getting information from her. So he didn't push. He knew Emily better than anyone. Pushing her would mean that she'd pull away even more, that she'd shut him out completely. He knew that Emily would come to him when she's ready to talk about it.

So now he's on his comfy bed with a beautiful woman peacefully asleep in his arms. What bothered him even more was how quick it took for Emily to fall asleep. No matter what day it was, Emily would take about an hour before she completely falls asleep. But tonight, he noticed that she was already in deep slumber about 5 minutes after her head hit the pillow. He wasn't even done with his night routine yet, which was _very short._ He knew that, for Emily to fall asleep this quick, she probably had more sleepless nights than she cared to admit.

He then heard her whimper, which could be a sign of the beginning of a nightmare. So he ran his hand on her back, soothing her back to sleep. " _Shhh._ It's alright, sweetheart. You're okay. I'm here." He whispered to her.

And as he whispered those words to her, he himself hoped that everything is _really_ okay.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you guys for your wonderful reviews. So glad to know that there are still people reading this. Thank you!**

 **Don't worry, this is not a Doyle arch variation. In this AU, the Foyet and Doyle dramas never happened. Emily Prentiss is my favorite character and as a fan, I was actually hurt when they wrote that for her exit episode. So no. No Doyle. I also personally think that there are already a ton fanfics with the Doyle arch inserted into them. I loved all the ones that I've read and I love how creative all the writers get in doing various alternative endings into them.**

 **Anyway, here's a little fluffy/happy chapter for ya'll. We're nearing to the end of this story so I hope you guys stick around! xx**

"Dad, I want to cut my hair." 10-year old Maya nonchalantly announced to everyone at breakfast. It surprised Hotch and Emily, but not that much. She's growing up, and this is the age when they start to actually care about how they look, so they understood.

"Are you sure? I thought you liked having long hair?" Hotch, still focused on his breakfast, so as not to make her feel embarrassed.

There was a pause, to which he thought Maya was preparing a full-blown argument as to why she wants to cut her hair. " _Mom_ liked my hair long." She said quietly, as if it will get her in trouble.

 _Oh._ That made sense. He suddenly realized what his daughter really was doing. She was moving on. Moving on from a very tough time that no child should have gone through. Moving on and gaining her life back. And if cutting her hair would mean cutting out the demons from her life, then he's all for it.

"And besides, it's very hard to manage now that it's long. Mom used to brush and style it but you know.." She continued as if she needed to justify to her father why she wanted a haircut.

"Maya, you don't have to justify a haircut to me. Not unless you shave it all off, but I doubt you'll do that. So, yes, you can have your hair cut."

"Hmm.. Now that you've mentioned it, shaving it off would mean less shower time and one less thing to manage. I'm considering it." She said with a serious look on her face.

"Ooh! And once you shaved it, they'll ask if you want your head dyed. I've always wanted to try it. Wanna do it today?" Emily ask her.

"Awesome! Can I, dad? Purple and Teal would look good."

"Maya." He warned, looking at her with a stern face, which made everyone laugh.

"I'm kidding, dad!"

He shook his head. _God help me with women._

/

"You okay? You look like you got pale during breakfast?" Emily giggled. They were all getting ready to go out for the day. Emily wanted to take Maya to her hairdresser, while he and Jack would hit the mall while they wait for them.

He gave Emily a loving look. God it was so hard to frown at her, especially when she laughs. He looked at her, brushing her hair. Then he realized how domestic this was – getting ready together. And he likes it. He really does.

"And you weren't helping" He said in a mocking tone.

"But I was being honest. They really asked me that one time, and I've honestly considered it. If I wasn't working for the FBI, I probably would've done it."

He sighed and shook his head. Oh Emily. "I guess I'm still having a hard time accepting the fact that she's growing up. She's 10, of course she'd start to care about she how looks. She'll probably ask me for a wardrobe revamp sometime soon. I mean, c'mon, I feel like yesterday she was still drinking from a sippy cup and now… oh god" He suddenly.

"What?" Emily asked, still focusing on fixing her stubborn hair. "What is it?"

"I'd have to have the talk with her." He said with a mortified look on his face. He started pacing the room. "I can't. How am I supposed to..? And bra shopping? She wouldn't do that with me. I mean, I'd go with her but she'll probably be embarrassed. Oh no. No."

Emily walked up to him and held his arm. "Aaron," she started softly, "listen. You and Maya have the greatest father/daughter relationship I've seen, and that's because you do not hesitate to communicate and you do not hesitate to listen. Same goes for her. At this point in her life, it's very important to keep that communication open. Don't be embarrassed talking to her about that stuff because then she'll be embarrassed too. Just be the cool dad you are, okay?"

"Okay." He sighed, calmness suddenly washing over him. He did not even realized he was panicking, if that's even possible. "Okay."

Emily snorted, "look at me giving you parenting advice as if I've had ten children." She said, her tone fading. But she shrugged it off and gave him a smile. "But just stay calm, okay? Maya's a smart girl. She probably knew how the reproductive system works before she turned 8."

"Em."

She laughed, "Sorry. All I'm saying is, it won't be difficult for you because she already understands what is happening. And you don't even have to have the talk with her yet, at least not this soon. But if you need some help, I'm here."

What an angel. "Thank you." He said, and she could see the sincerity in his eyes and she couldn't help but smile.

"You're welcome. Now come on! You have little excited monsters waiting downstairs." She said, tugging his hand.

"Wait a sec." He pulled her back to him. He looked intently into her eyes, and for a moment – just in that moment - Emily thought he was going to kiss her. And god was she ready. But he didn't. Instead, he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I mean it. You're doing so much for us. Thank you."

She can't say she was disappointed though. They weren't there yet. And Hotch is a gentleman. Kissing her at this moment would mean that they'd need time to talk, which they don't have as of the moment. So she understood. Though, she's certain it would happen, she wished it'd be some time soon.

/

To say that Emily was excited was an understatement. She has been meaning to go to her hairdresser for the past months, but a lot of stuff had happened. And now, she gets to go and bring Maya too. Even though what they'll have was just a haircut and a short treatment, it was already a great time for both of them.

As for Maya, well, she's never been to a real salon before. Her mother used to cut her hair, saying the hairdressers cost too much even though she's sure her mother goes there at least twice a month. So, she was just as excited as Emily, and probably even more nervous.

A nice-looking woman with long, ash-gray hair in perfect braids greeted them as they enter. By the looks of it, she and Emily has known each other for a while.

"And who is your beautiful friend over here?"

"Nika, this is Maya. She wants to get her hair cut today. Maya, this is Nika, my hairdresser."

"Hello, there. Nice to meet you, Maya." She offered her hand to shake, which Maya gladly took.

"Hi, Ms. Nika. It's nice to meet you too."

"What a lovely girl" she said to Emily.

"She really is." Emily said proudly, almost sounding maternal.

"C'mon. Jackie will lead you to your seats."

A couple of hours later, Hotch spotted Emily and Maya walking towards them hand in hand, sporting wide smiles on their faces. For a moment, he pictured Emily being a part of their family officially. Seeing her with his daughter made his heart leap. She had a certain a glow in her.

"Hey guys!" Emily greeted them.

"Dad look at my hair!" Maya said proudly, showing her knew shoulder length hair.

"I know! You look beautiful in short hair." He said. Then he looked at Emily, "And you look beautiful, sweetheart." He said quietly.

Emily gave a shy smile. There was no drastic change in her hairstyle. All she had was a trim and a little treatment. Hotch knew that but still he complimented her. Always the sweetest man. "Thank you."

"Can we go to the park now, Emmy?" Jack asked impatiently.

She knew Jack must have been getting impatient. There's only so much a 4-year old can do at the mall. So she hoisted him up and settled him on her right side. "Of course we can, buddy. Thanks for being good and waiting for us. But we have to make a stop for food first. How does Subway sound?"

"Yes Subway!" Jack cheered.

Realizing that he still had that picnic blanket in the car from their beach trip, Hotch suggested a little picnic at the park with their Subway take-outs. And of course, who could turn down a spontaneous picnic at the park on a lovely day? So here they are, happily sitting on their blanket and munching on their sandwiches.

After a while, the kids was finally allowed to play at the jungle gym. "Make sure you stay where we can see you." Hotch reminded his kids.

"Yes, dad." They replied in chorus.

"And be careful and look after each other." He continued.

"Yes, dad." They replied again. Emily just watched in amusement but she understood that with a job like theirs, Hotch would be a little more protective of his kids. Who wouldn't be?

The two of them just remained seated as they watched the kids play, basking in the unusual peacefulness of the outdoors.

"I'm really happy today." He heard Emily say. He looked at her, her head on his shoulder as she watch the kids, his hand enveloping hers.

Her declaration made his heart leap. A happy Emily is what he strives for whenever they were together out of work. So he kissed the top of her head and said, "Well, I'm glad." Then he shifted and kissed her forehead. Looking directly into her eyes before saying, "seeing you happy makes me happy."

That made Emily's eyes burn, tears threatening to fall. Never has she had a man that puts her happiness first – that puts her first. Never has she had a man that was willing to do everything for her. In her past relationships, when the man would realize how incredibly independent she is, they'd start to pull away, to stop caring. But this man right here was as stubborn as she is, and she was thankful for that because he's never given up on her. Just for the fun of it, she likes to think that he's too stubborn to do so. If given the chance, she'd like to have him in her life forever. But there's still too much to consider. They haven't even talked yet, no advances whatsoever. But in this moment, Emily wanted to say it. She wanted to say she loves him, that she wants him in her life, that he's the one for her. And in this moment, she almost did. Almost.

However, their moment was cut off when a brunette woman who looks to be in her twenty's holding what seemed to be a vintage polaroid camera approached them.

"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt."

"No problem. Can we help you?"

"I was actually taking photos of the scenery using the polaroid for my photography class, and I didn't realized that you two were in the shot. And here." She said, handing them a polaroid photo in black in white. "I thought it was a too beautiful moment to just waste it for my class."

They both smiled when they looked at the photo. It was the exact moment when Hotch kissed Emily's forehead. It was very beautiful indeed. Like the ones you see on a Hallmark postcard.

"This is a beautiful shot. Thank you so much." Emily said.

"Yes, thank you. We appreciate it, really. It's beautiful." Hotch added.

"You're welcome. You two have a great day. You're a beautiful couple, by the way, aesthetic-wise and all." The girl said and walked off.

Neither of them corrected her that they weren't a couple, nor did they had the chance to. But they didn't mind.

"Would you like to keep it?" Hotch asked.

Emily took a moment to consider. "Yes, I'd like to keep it, if you don't mind." She said softly. She thought that if they couldn't be a couple in real life, at least she can pretend that they were whenever she looks at this photo.

"Of course, I don't mind, sweetheart. You keep it." He said to her.

God he really needs to stop with these endearments and these sweetness and stuff, Emily thought. Otherwise, her heart might just explode.

"I think about it, you know?" He said after the silence became unbearable. His heart suddenly thumping.

"What?"

"Us being a couple."

She gasped. She never thought that he would. "Aaron." She whispered.

It was now or never. He shifted so he was facing her. He took her hands in his and look directly into her eyes. "I do think about it. And I've come to realize that, if you're ever feeling the same way, it's not an entirely absurd idea. If you ever feel the same way, I'm willing to fight tooth and nail to make it work. And if you'll let me, I would like to take you to dinner. Let me do it right, because you deserve so much more, sweetheart."

"Aaron, I-" She stuttered, suddenly at lost for words. How was she suddenly lost for words? Good lord, this man is making her feel so many things.

"I'm not pressuring you into anything, Em. If you don't want to, we can always forget this moment ever happened and we can just go back to the way we were."

"No"

"Oh. Okay then. It's alright, sweetheart. I'm sorry."

Emily chuckled. "No, I don't want to forget this moment. And how does Friday night sound?"

Aaron gave her that full smile that she loved. "Friday night sounds perfect."


	15. Chapter 15

"Do you like him?" JJ asked the brunette sitting across her.

They were out for coffee and some girl time. And to be honest, Emily needed someone to knock some sense into her. There's no other person she trusts more to do it than JJ. Not that she doesn't trust Penelope. She just needs someone calmer right now.

But Emily stayed quiet.

JJ narrowed her eyes. "That's a strong yes you don't want to admit. So what's stopping you?"

She sighed. "I… don't know. Somehow, something about it just feels wrong. Like I'm doing something wrong."

"Is it because of the rules?"

"Maybe? I don't know."

"How do you feel when you're with him? I mean, outside of work."

Then she was quiet, trying to form even one coherent thought about how Aaron Hotchner makes her feel. God, she feels like a lovesick teenager. "Nice. I feel a certain kind of calmness, of comfort. He treats me with utmost respect as a strong, independent woman, yet he's willing to do everything to protect me." She smiled at the memories of her and Hotch. "He makes me feel safe, so safe that I wanted to cry. He makes me happy like I've never been before. He makes me feel like… _like I'm home."_

"You're already pretty too far gone, aren't you?" JJ smiled at her best friend's admission. Maybe, just maybe, they were really made for each other.

"JJ-"

"No, Em, just hear me out, okay? Hotch is the kind of person who calculates his every move. He's a strict follower of rules, not only because he's a leader, but because he respects his job more than anything. So for him to take this chance, despite the strict rules of the bureau against intra-unit relationships, is saying something. I think that in itself is proof enough of how much he wants this, of how much he wants you."

"What if it doesn't work out? What then?"

"Oh don't even go there. You're both too invested in it already for it not to work out. We see you, Em. We see how you calm each other, how you make each other smile even on the rough days. We see how his mood changes when you're around. And to be more honest, he's not too uptight anymore. We see the changes between you two. The good kinds."

When she remained quiet after her little speech, JJ asked in a lighter mood, "So, when is this date?"

"Friday night." She said quietly.

JJ was about to say something when her phone beeped. She immediately read the text message from Hotch saying that they need to go back to the office since they have an urgent case. Emily also got the same message a few seconds later.

Emily sighed, not even bothering to hide her disappointment. "Let's go."

"Hey." JJ stopped her before she could get off from her seat. "No matter what you decide, whether you push through with it or not, we won't judge you and Hotch. You know the rest of the team will support you guys either way. The most important thing is you follow your heart and do what makes you happy. Okay?"

She nodded, ever so thankful to have a friend like JJ. "Yeah. Thank you."

/

When JJ and Emily arrived at the BAU round table, everyone was already there, except Hotch.

Chief Strauss stormed his office at the last minute. Nothing good ever came out of Strauss barging in someone's office. Today was not an exception. She blatantly gave Hotch a warning to solve this case immediately and to keep it from the press as much as possible, all because the _mayor does not want to ruin his reputation._ "He prides himself in an almost zero crime rate so far in his administration. Don't ruin it, Agent Hotchner."

 _Like he had a say about it._ They're FBI, but they're not miracle workers. Needless to say, Hotch did not need the additional stress that Strauss brought. Hence, everyone could feel that he was fuming when he entered the conference room. "Let's get started," he said as he pass around the files.

"Earlier today, I received a call from the chief of the state police regarding a series of killings in Washington DC. 4 women dead in the span of two weeks. All were abducted and killed within 24 hours and their bodies were placed outside their respective workplaces. The body of the latest victim was found last night."

"Cause of death is stab wound on the chest area. He makes sure he severs a major artery. Aside from that, more than 30 other stab wounds, which are superficial. Too shallow to cause death. No signs of sexual assault." Morgan added.

"Could be personal." Rossi observed.

"All of the victims are brunettes, 30s-40s. All are highly professional. Victim #1 is an engineer, victims #2 and #3 are lawyers. Victim #4 is a teacher." Garcia informed the team.

"So he might have issues with people in power, specifically women, especially if he feels inferior to them." Emily added.

"They could also be surrogates. Aesthetic-wise, they all look very similar to each other. He probably has experienced a certain kind of rejection." Reid said.

"So what triggered him?" Morgan asked.

"That's what we need to find out. Dave, you and Morgan go to the ME. Reid, Emily and I will go to the site where the latest victim was found. We'll meet with the chief there. Garcia, I need a more extensive backgrounds of these victims, and pull-up CCTVs surrounding the dumping site. JJ, I need a press blackout."

JJ gave him an incredulous look. "A press blackout? Hotch, it's DC, the press has probably gotten a hand on the case before we even got involved."

"Mayor's orders. Just do what you can."

\

There are three things that Hotch absolutely loathe about this case: first, that it involves dirty politics and the team is in the middle of it; two, that their date is most probably going to be postponed, and; three, that Emily fits the victimology very well. He most especially hates the third one. He knows that the rest of the team can see it too but they just don't say anything. So, he's making subtle ways to ensure that Emily does not go out of his sight or that she's out with someone else all the time until this case is solved.

Not that he would tell anyone about this plan. Of course he wouldn't, especially not Emily. She'd probably think that he underestimates her or that he's giving her special treatment, which she'd be incredibly mad about. He can't have that. Then there's the team who'll give all the shit for treating Emily differently in this case just because she fits victimology, which really do happen from time to time to any of them. They'd also think he's letting his alpha male tendencies win over and discriminates her as a woman. That's not his intention at all. But he knew no one would understand, so he's being very discreet about it. After all, something about this case feels off. He has a gut feeling that something will terribly go wrong. _And his gut feelings are always right._

Hotch, Emily and Reid met with chief of the state police when they arrived at the scene. As they try to figure out how the unsub was able to dump the body without being seen, Hotch's phone rang again.

"Garcia."

"Sir, I need you back here at the office now. And I mean, right now."

"What's going on?" He asked with a stern voice, which made Emily and Reid looked at him in wonder.

"There's a package that was sent for you. It looks sketchy, and the delivery guy said the sender is anonymous. I took the liberty of asking one of the tech guys to scan it for poisonous stuff and all but it's clean and I've put it in an evidence bag just in case."

"Alright, we're heading back. Until then, please don't let anyone open it or touch it."

"Got it, sir. And may I just say? I really really have a bad feeling about this case."

"You and me both. Thanks, Garcia."

When they arrived back at the BAU, Hotch ordered Emily and Reid to work on the geographical profile while they wait for Rossi and Morgan to get back.

"I'm bothered, you know." Reid said quietly as he stares intently into the evidence board.

Emily who was sitting on one of the chairs of the round table snapped her head up to look at him. "What?"

"I'm bothered that you perfectly fit the victimology. Aren't you? Bothered, I mean."

Then she was silenced by his question. She was trying to ignore it, because she knew how it could affect how she works this case. She knew how Hotch could get if she even tries to show that she was getting affected by it. In all honesty though, she's kind of scared. _Emily Prentiss does not get scared_ , says the annoying little voice in her head. There was no denying that she does fit the victimology, add the fact that they were basically on home turf. There's that feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach that something could, or will, go very wrong with this case.

She shrugged. "I have very common features. It happens. I just want to finish this case immediately."

/

Hotch's face immediately went pale as he opened the package and saw what was inside.

They were photos of Emily. They were obviously taken without her consent. Someone was stalking Emily. Someone was stalking his girl.

There were 5 photos contained in the package. First was a photo of Emily getting out of her car taken across her apartment building. The second photo was her during a lunch out as it was obviously taken from outside her favorite diner. Emily was sitting by the window though he could not see who was sitting across her. Third was a photo of her in a busy street. Hotch knew it was from the night of the party at Rossi's. He then remembered that she took a cab then. The fourth and fifth photos though made his stomach turn and made his blood boil in anger. The fourth one was a photo of her apartment window, the one in her bedroom, and you could see Emily in her underwear just about to dress up. _How was this even possible? Her flat is on the 5_ _th_ _floor!_ He thought. The fifth one was a photo of them from their recent park trip with the kids. It was only the two of them in the shot but the thought of having this mysterious man close to his kids, and even to Emily, made him angrier.

Now that he thought about it, he has a hunch that all this killings could be related to Emily's stalker. _Operation Protect Emily Prentiss At All Costs_ is now in full swing. He does not care if he's too protective. He does not care if she gets mad. He can't lose her.

When Hotch walked back to the conference room, everyone was already there waiting for him.

"Hotch, they didn't find any-" Morgan started but he was immediately cut off when Hotch raised his hand.

"Prentiss, a word?" He said, giving her a stern look and she nodded in agreement. "Everyone, keep working on the case. We just need a moment." He said and the two agents walked back to his office.

"What's up?" Emily asked as she close the door of his office.

Hotch motioned for her to take a seat as he did too. "You're off this case."

"What? Why?" Emily's reaction was no surprise. "If this is about me fitting the victimology-"

"It's not just that."

"Then what?! Explain it to me, Hotch, because right now, all I'm seeing is a boss who's overprotective and undermining my capabilities in the field."

He then started to spread the photos on his desk one by one. "Because you could be this unsub's end game." He said in an angrier tone.

Emily gasped when she saw them. It was like her nightmares were coming true. "Wh-where did you get those?" She asked, her voice in a shaking whisper.

Hotch's face immediately softened at the suddenly fragile woman in front of him. "These came in a package named for me. The sender was anonymous and there's no return address."

She nodded, because she doesn't know what else to say, what else to think, what else to do.

"The team needs to know." He said. He was expecting a defiance from her, but all she did was nod her head, which incredibly bothered him. So he stood and pulled her up into a hug, rubbing comforting circles on her back. But she stayed stiff, motionless. "Sweetheart," he whispered, and with that Emily succumbed to his embrace. He kissed the top of her head and said, "They have to know. If you get uncomfortable at any point, you tell me, alright?" But she just nodded again and pulled back, trying to compose herself before facing the team again.

/

"How do we know it's the same person?" Rossi raised the question. Hotch taped the photos that were sent to him on the evidence board and explained what was happening. He could see on all of their faces that the team was surprised and confused just as he was.

"We don't. Right now it's just a presumption considering that Prentiss fits the victimology." Hotch said.

"Taunting the FBI. It's a bold move but not uncommon for someone who has power issues." Morgan said.

"Em, there were no suspicious persons around the building?" Rossi had to ask, even though he knew that, as a profiler, Emily would already notice if something was wrong around her.

She shook her head. "No," she quietly, her tone defeated, "but when I came back to my apartment after our Chicago case a month ago, I felt uneasy, like something was out of place, or like someone was watching me. I checked the entire place but everything seemed to be fine. Ever since then, I could always feel someone watching me though I can't see them. I thought I was just being paranoid."

"Garcia, pull up the CCTV around Emily's building and from the inside. Get every angle, every corner, and go back as far as last month." Hotch ordered the tech analyst, who was feeling bad and scared for his best friend.

"Wait, so we're focusing on this instead of the case now? Hotch, is that the right thing to do? We don't even know what we got here." Morgan asked, snapping at their Unit Chief.

"We're not abandoning the case, Morgan. We're just exploring possibilities. We don't have a solid lead on the case and this could be it." Hotch answered, obviously annoyed that Morgan was questioning his decisions as Unit Chief.

Hotch and Morgan continued to argue and the team's attention were so focused on them that they forgot about Emily. Emily who was breathing rapidly. She couldn't breathe, at least she feels like she couldn't. Everything around her seems to be moving and she felt light-headed. It was JJ, who was sitting beside her, who noticed her first.

JJ put her hand on Emily's arm and squeezed it. "Em, are you okay?" When Emily didn't respond, she started to panic for her friend. Morgan and Hotch stopped arguing and the team's attention were suddenly on her. Hotch was beside her in a flash.

"Emily, talk to me." He said. This time Emily responded, still looking straight ahead with a blank stare on her face. "Ineedtostepout" she said quickly, pushing herself up. But then she felt her surroundings move around her and before she knew it, she fell. She could hear the panic in the team's voices before she blacked out.

She was in a different place when she woke up. The room was white and it smelled like a hospital. She was lying on a bed with crisp-white sheets. She feels another panic attack rising up. But then her attention was caught by someone suddenly beside and holding her hand.

"Hey. Hey, sweetheart. It's alright. You're okay." Hotch whispered to her and Emily started to calm down somehow. "That's it, take slow, deep breaths. There you go." He cheered her on, hoping to prevent another panic attack.

"Where am I?"

"We're at the infirmary. You fainted at the conference room so we brought you here."

 _Huh._ That's why the place looked unfamiliar. She's never been to the FBI infirmary, and she knew Hotch has never been in here too.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

She shook her head lightly and sighed. "-don't know. Can I go now?"

"Okay. I'll ask the nurse."

/

The team continued working on the case. They were beyond pissed that the unsub was so organized that not a single lead could be made. It felt like they were getting nowhere and they can all feel the pressure to close the case immediately. If the unsub follows the timeline, they could be looking at another body in 48 hours. They can't have that. It also doesn't help that the mayor is on their asses.

"I'm gonna get some coffee." Emily said as she stood from her seat. This case was extraordinarily draining for her. She found herself so much like the victims that she could be one herself. It also doesn't help that she actually has stalker. _It wasn't paranoia. There's actually someone stalking me,_ she thought.

As Emily was making her coffee, she heard her 2nd personal phone beep, indicating a message. She sighed. There are only few persons who knew _this_ personal number, she could count them in her hands. First is Hotch, second is JJ, third is her mother, and fourth is her college best friend Alina. By elimination, she knew that the first two were less likely to have sent her the message. So it could only be her best friend or her worse enemy-slash-secretly admirable mother, and she's hoping it's the former.

However, her face turned into a deeper scowl when she saw _Private Number_ on the screen. Then she felt the blood drain from her face when she opened the message.

 _Follow what I say or the kids get it._ The message said, followed by a photo that seemed to be taken from a diner where Sharp, Maya and Jack were having dinner.

She looked around. No one was looking. Everybody was busy.

 _What do you want?_ She typed back.

Then a few seconds later, _You._ _Get on your car and drive to this address. Do not get out of the car once you get there until I come and get you. Do not say anything to anyone or I swear to god, the kids will suffer._

 _Hurry up. I'm not as patient as you think I am._

Emily does not know for sure if it was an empty threat that the stalker wants her to fall into. But when it was made directly to Maya and Jack, she did not hesitate. She went to her desk to drop her work phone on the drawer. She looked up to the conference room to make sure no one will see her. She sighed when she saw everyone still focus on the case.

As she walked out of the building she thought, _this will end today._

/

Hotch looked to the woman sitting beside as he was about to ask her a question. He stopped as he remembered that she went to get coffee in the break room. _But that was 20 minutes ago. Coffee does not take 20 minutes to make._

So he asked the obvious question,

"Where's Emily?"


	16. Chapter 16

_Shit._

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing when Hotch asked the question.

"She went to get coffee, didn't she?" JJ said.

"For more than 20 minutes? I don't think so." Morgan answered.

Hotch was already calling her work phone and when there was no answer on the fifth ring, he walked up to her desk and everyone followed him. He noticed that her purse was still there and he knew that she had to leave in urgency as she would not leave the office without it.

"Garcia" Hotch called her attention, which stunned her quite a bit. "I sent you Emily's other private number. Track it. Check in both of her personal and work phones for any cryptic messages. Anything."

"Y-yes, sir. Right away." She said with a trembling voice. _Oh gumdrop, please be okay._

"Hotch, her phone and credentials are here." Reid said as he opened her drawer and found the said items.

"That's her work phone." JJ said. "So, we were right? Emily was his end game all along?"

"And if he sticks to his timeline, we only have 24 hours to find her. Maybe even less." Dave said.

It was like the world stopped for Hotch. _24 hours._ 24-freaking-hours to find Emily alive and hopefully unharmed. He has never been more determined to solve a case. Even if Emily could buy herself some time with the unsub, they'll never know. She might tick him off the wrong way and everything else could go wrong. If he has to turn the entire state capital upside down just to find her, he will.

"Emily is one of us. Strauss could easily pull us out of this case at any moment and if that happens, we may not-" Reid said but he was interrupted.

"I won't let that happen. Let's get to work."

 _I promise you, sweetheart, I will find you._

/

Emily opened her eyes and immediately registered the sharp pain on her head. She can also feel something dripping on the right side of it. She saw then that she was tied to a chair. The ropes on her hands were noticeably a little loose though. _On purpose or inexperienced?_ Either way, she used it to her advantage and started moving her wrists to hopefully free them. As she was doing that, she looked around the room. It was small. Four walls and a door, kind of like a container. The entire place was white and there was nothing else in there except for her and the chair. She looked up and saw what looked like air vents all through upper part of the walls, and a huge one on the ceiling. Obviously much too big for this small space.

She succeeded in untying her hands and then she crouched down to untie her ankles. Just as when she was about to succeed in that too, she heard the door starting to unlock. Finally freeing her legs, she stood quietly by the door with the roped in her hands, ready to attack whoever this son of a bitch who abducted her.

The man had barely walked in when Emily gave him a mean right hook. It was enough for her to take the man onto the floor. She pinned him down and wrapped the rope around his neck. She couldn't remember what happened next aside from the fact that he was suddenly stronger than her and she felt a light stab on her arm. Then she blacked out.

/

While that was all happening, back at Quantico, Hotch and the team scrambles to find her. A few minutes after he sent Garcia to track Emily's phone, she came back running as fast as her high heels could go to the conference room.

She took a deep breath before starting, "Sir."

Everyone looked at her before she could continue, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I checked the CCTVs of the building. Emily did leave and took her car with her and it looked like she was in a hurry. I'd show you guys the videos but I'm pretty sure my next news is more important. I just received a report about a car explosion in Woodbridge."

"And?"

"Just at the same time my tracker for Emily's phone pinged the location." She took another deep shaky breath, "Sir, it's Emily's car."

He gave a stiff before heading out. "Let's go."

The ride to the scene was silent, except for the loud sirens.

There were already police officers and firemen on the scene. The fire was put out but there was still smoke coming out of the burned car.

They were an intimidating bunch when they walked to the scene and through the crime tape. "Agents." The chief greeted them. "I understand this is one of your agents' car?"

"Yes. Was there any body recovered?" Hotch asked the question he hated the most.

"No. Everything inside is charred or turned to ashes, but I assure you that there was no body inside it."

"My agent, Emily Prentiss owns this car. She left the office as we were discussing the case a few hours ago and we haven't been able to contact her since. She has a stalker that we believe is linked to the current murders of women happening in DC. Who made the call?"

"That guy over there." He said, pointing to a white male talking to a police officer. "He was driving by when the explosion happened. The impact did some cracks on his windows so he had to pullover."

Hotch nodded to Dave and Morgan, hinting them to talk to the guy. They nodded back and walked towards the witness.

Hotch's phone rang and he immediately answered it. "You're on speaker, Garcia."

"Sir, Emily's phone is still active and it's just somewhere there in your location. She must have dropped it."

"We'll look for it. Thanks." JJ and Reid then started to search the area they were on. Not 10 minutes later, Reid was able to find the cellphone a few feet away and it was put in an evidence bag.

All in all, there weren't no significant information that they got out here other than Emily's phone. Her car was totally burnt so it was no use in finding evidence in it. They went back to the office feeling a little disappointed.

When they walked in, Garcia was already in the conference room waiting for them with her laptop on the table. Hotch gave her a head's up on the way that he wanted her to hack into Emily's phone.

"Just so you know, while it is absolutely necessary, it still feels wrong to hack a phone belonging to someone I know." She said sadly as she made her magic on the computer. "Oh!" She suddenly blurted, attracting the attention of the team. "Oh no no no."

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"Uhm. Uhm- okay. It looks like the stalker contacted Emily earlier today, just moments before she left the premises." She said, still typing away. "Oh this is- this is not good." She uttered, starting to panic.

"Garcia." Hotch scolded.

"If you would look at the screen in front of you, you can see the conversation." Then the text exchanged flashed on the screen.

"That's the address of her car explosion. He knew we can easily trace this so he didn't give the exact location of where he actually wants her." Morgan said.

"He stalked your kids." Reid blurted out the obvious.

"And used them to bait on Emily. He knew exactly what could get her to him." Rossi said.

"He knew her weakness" JJ said quietly.

Everyone then was looking at their Unit Chief, waiting for him to say something. But he just stood still, silent, and staring at the conversation on the screen. _Oh Emily._

When he snapped out of his thoughts and realized that everyone was staring at him, he cleared his throat and said, "Did you track the number?"

"Oh boss man, you never learn, don't you? I'm always ahead of you in this kind of things." Garcia said with a little smile, which also quickly faded. "But unfortunately, it was a burner phone. Trust me, I tracked it 38 times all while we're sitting here. I'm sorry."

He nodded his understanding. "Thanks. Uhm- Strauss is summoning me so I need to go to her office, but please keep looking at the files. We might just have overlooked at something. There's got to be something. I won't be long."

"Hotch, wait. Do you want us to get the kids and your mom? They're safer here." Rossi offered.

"It could just be an empty threat. To get Emily to come to him. So I don't think-"

But JJ cut him off. "We can't take that risk." She said, immediately looking down. "Emily for sure didn't think it was an empty threat." She whispered, but just loud for him to hear.

"You're right. Alright. Take Morgan with you. I'll call ahead and tell my mother so they can get ready."

/

"Dad, what's going on?" Maya asked, her tone exasperated and demanding answers. She, Jack and Sharp had just arrived at the BAU and is currently cooped up in Hotch's office, which they didn't like one bit.

"Aaron," His mother started, "will you explain to me why we suddenly have to be here? Are we in trouble?"

He sighed, not wanting to do this. But he knew they needed answers so they'd understand that this is something he needed to do. "I'll talk to grandma in the other room for a minute, okay? Please, _please,_ just stay here until we get back and if you do that, I promise to explain everything." Both the kids nodded much to Hotch's relief. They're usually good, easy kids who usually don't demand for things, especially if they could feel that the situation was urgent. But apparently not today.

Hotch led his mother to Rossi's office and immediately closed the door once they were in.

"Honey, please tell me what's going on."

"Mom, did you ever notice a strange guy, perhaps even a car, following you guys around? Maybe just sitting around the area for an unusual amount of time. Or an unfamiliar car in the neighborhood or the kids' school? Or anywhere you go?"

Sharp shook her head, "No. I haven't notice anything. You know me, I don't have the eyes for these things."

"Mom, please. I need you to think hard. Even the littlest things."

His mother was silently pacing back and forth for a minute. "Wait, now I remember." She whispered. "A couple of weeks ago, I noticed this black sedan when I looked down the window. It was just parked there. I didn't really paid attention, thinking it was someone from the building. But then, when we went out for an early dinner, the kids and I, there's another black sedan outside the diner. We were sitting by the window and it was parked right across from there. It was gone by the time we left the diner so I thought it was just coincidence and pushed that thought away. Are we in danger?"

"We don't know for sure but we're not taking any chances."

Sharp put his hand on Hotch's arm, noticing the distress in his eyes. _Mother's instinct._ "There's something else in there. Tell me." She said softly.

He sighed. "Emily's been taken. We don't know where she is. She has a stalker and we recently received taunts from him. The last straw for Emily was a photo of you guys from the diner. He sent her that photo, demanding her to meet him somewhere or else he'd hurt you and the kids. We tracked the address but all we found was Emily's burnt car. He took her somewhere else. And right now… right now, I'm not even sure where to go. We have no leads, but I have to find her. I can't lose her, mom." He whispered that last sentence.

"Oh honey" She pulled him into a hug. "You'll find her. You and your team are the best in what you do, and I know for sure that Emily's not doubting you guys one bit. She knows you'll find her. So don't let her down."

When they returned to his office, though he was exhausted, Hotch knew he needed to explain to his kids what was happening. So, with young Jack sitting on top of his desk while Maya sat on the visitor's chair, he sighed for the nth and looked at them.

"I'm sorry that we suddenly have to pull you guys away from the outside world, but… there's a bad guy going around and we think that he wants to hurt you guys. So we need you to stay here until we catch him."

The kids nodded their understanding of the situation. "Daddy, where's Emmy? I haven't seen her. I want to hug her because she makes me feel better!" Jack innocently said. Maya then suddenly looked at her father and didn't take too long to put it together.

"He's got her, hasn't he?" She quietly asked.

He nodded. "The bad guy got her and we're doing the best we can to find her. So please, I just need you guys to be cooperative and be nice to grandma while you're here, alright?" They nodded again. "I'll see you guys later." He said and gave them both a kiss.

"Go find Emmy, daddy. You're our superhero!" Jack said as he was making his way out. Maya went to run after him.

"Dad!" She stood just outside his office door.

"Maya, I told you to stay in." He said as he walked back to her.

"No, please. Just listen. Did the bad guy have a black car?" She asked her father who was kneeling in front of her so they were same the level.

His brow furrowed at his daughter's question. "What? What do you mean?"

"Dad!" She stomped her foot at the same time she called him out.

"Y-yes, possibly. Why?" But before he could receive an answer, Maya ran back inside the office to get something. "Maya!"

"Just a sec!" She came back clutching papers in her hand. "Here."

He took them and immediate shock cowered his face. "Where did you get this?" He asked. They were two torn pages from her pocket sketchpad. One was a sketch of a side of a car with a man standing on the other side of it. The other was a sketch of man, and to his surprise, with good enough details to go through.

"When grandma, Jack and I were at the diner sometime back, there was this car parked right across from the window. At first I didn't mind, but then I felt uneasy like someone was staring, and when I looked out, that man was standing by his car just staring at us. I looked away because he gave me the creeps, but then a while later, he was still there. He had his cap off then and I noticed that he was taking pictures of us! So I stared back at him long enough for him to realize that I caught him. When he did, he went into his car and drove off. I did the sketch so I won't forget and so I can show you but I kind of forgot for some time."

"Oh sweetie" He shook his head disbelief. "You have no idea how helpful these are. Thank you!" He said, giving her a tight hug.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just really forgot and you were kind of away most of the time."

"No, sweetheart. No need to be sorry. This right here could be lead we've been waiting for."

"Okay" She said with a tearful smile, wiping her eyes. "Now go get Emmy back. She's waiting, I know she is."

"I will, I promise." _A promise not just to his kids, but to himself and to Emily as well._

/

When he entered back into the conference room, everyone was silent and still. "Sir" A tearful Garcia said quietly.

He then looked in the direction of the screens, where everyone was looking. He felt the blood drain away from his face at what he saw.

"It's a live feed. He somehow hacked into the system so he can get it to us." Garcia explained.

On it was an unconscious Emily, tied to a chair, a bloodied face, and god knows what else injury she has. She's sitting in the middle of a small room that seems to be all white. The large vents also did not go unnoticed to them.

Then suddenly, a person covered in ski mask appeared on the screen. He looked directly into it, absolutely sure that they'd be watching.

 _"_ _Hello, Agent Hotchner."_


	17. Chapter 17

_Hello, Agent Hotchner. I hope you liked my surprise. 4 women for good practice, eh? She's beautiful, isn't she? Too bad I can't have her. And If I can't have her, no one can, especially not you. Start saying your goodbye, Agent Hotchner._

With that, a tracker for the room temperature where Emily was in appeared on the bottom right of the screen.

"She's gonna freeze to death." JJ said.

"Are you tracking this?" Hotch asked Garcia.

"I have been since it came on. But let me just tell you that this guy is a tech-miracle-worker. The signal is bouncing off from Cape Town, South Africa and 25 other countries around the world, which we all know is bogus. But I am trying the best. I really really am." Garcia answered tearfully, mentally scolding herself for not doing her best for her best friend.

"He's gone off his MO. If Emily was his real target, why kill all those women?" Morgan asked.

"He wanted us involved. He made it serial and complicated so the BAU can get involved." Reid answered.

"Hotch." Rossi called him out, looking at the paper in his hands.

Hotch snapped out of his thought. "Oh. Maya gave me these. She and my mother saw a man at the diner. But it was Maya who saw him taking pictures of them and saw his face." He said, posting the sketches on the evidence board.

"Why does he look familiar?" Reid said quietly as he stare at the sketch.

"Guys, she's waking up!" JJ cried and they all looked at the screen as Emily started to wake up and move her head. "But the temperature is dropping quickly." JJ alerted them.

"And with the amount of clothing that she has, hypothermia could kick-in in less than an hour." Reid said.

/

Emily felt excruciating pain all over her body. She willed herself to open her eyes to try and assess the situation. It took a while but when she finally did, she realized that was still in the same white room, still tied to a chair. She then tried to assess herself.

 _Pain in my head, probably blood dripping on my face. Pain when I breathe. And goddamn it, this leg hurts._

She tried to move the said left leg, but even with the minimal movement she felt excruciating pain shoot up her body. She winced and tried to control her breathing, which was also painful doing so.

 _Why does my stomach hurt? Why does everything hurt? And dear god why is it freezing in here?_

It didn't take long for her body to feel the chills and start shaking. Emily then tried to take her mind off the cold so she started counting. A technique that her father taught her when she was younger to calm herself down.

 **One.** _Once a year, during the holidays, I go to the theater to watch the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert. It was a tradition I've started since my father died. He used to love going to those and I've regretted all the times that I've declined his invitation to go. It's something that I do alone, a tradition for myself. A holiday guilty pleasure. I love the feeling that I get when I hear them play Christmas songs. It's like the melody goes through my veins and travels through my body._

 **Two.** _I only had to do this counting thing twice this year. First was when Reid and I somehow got stuck in that cult in Colorado. I had to think of something while the leader was beating me up. Something other than the pain. Second is now._

 **Three.** _I think it has been three days since Aaron had asked me out. Though I've accepted, I still have my reservations. Though I knew in myself that I do love him, him asking me out made it more real and in all honesty, it was scary. I do still want to go though, that is if he'll still have me after all this shit._

 **Four.** _Four women dead in the span of two weeks. That was the case that we were working on before this happened. I do not know if we are all connected or if my team has made any connection. Also, how long 'til I start to get hypothermia? Four hours? Because god it is freezing in here._

 **Five.** _Jack's birthday is in two months. He will be five. I know he's been asking his father for a Superheroes-themed party. God please let me live longer to see that day. Please let me live longer to see both Maya and Jack grow up. Ever since they came into my life, including their father, it has never been the same. I started looking forward to coming home because at some point, I'd get to see and spend time with them. I get much more motivated to work because I know I make the world a safer place for them._

 **Six.** _Penelope, JJ, Derek, Dave, Spencer, and Aaron. These are the six people that I trust my life with. My team. My family. And I know that they're doing everything they can to find me. And I have no doubt that they will. It's just a question of when._ "Please find me" she actually whispered.

That was the last thing she uttered before she passed out again.

/

Back at the BAU, the team still scrambles to build a profile and figure out their unsub. It's a race against time. They can see on the screen how Emily woke up and took in her surroundings; how she tried to move her leg and cried in pain.

"It's broken" Reid uttered then. He didn't say how he could see the dislocated bone making a lump-like structure on her leg. He noticed it because she was wearing tight pants.

They saw how she tried to calm herself down. They do not know what's going on her head, but it looked she was trying to control her breathing. They saw how chills racked up her body as the temperature keeps dangerously dropping. Lastly, they saw the slight movement from her mouth like she was saying something before she passed out again.

" _Please find me."_ Reid whispered.

"What?" JJ reacted.

"I think that's what she said. _Please find me."_ He said sadly to the team.

"From the unsub's message, it looks Emily has rejected him romantically. Alright, let's go back. History. Has Emily mentioned to anyone of you a guy that she rejected that ended badly? A date gone bad? A persistent guy in high school or college that's recently shown up? Anything?" Rossi asked.

They all shook their head no. Even JJ and Garcia do not recall a rejection-gone-bad story from Emily, and she has quite a handful of dating horror stories.

"That's it. Governor Peters!" Reid exclaimed, which caught the attention of everyone.

"What?" Morgan asked.

"The sketch. It looks like Governor Peters." He explained.

"Governor Jeremy Peters, the governor of Virginia, is our unsub?" Morgan asked.

"Did he and Emily have a history?" Rossi asked.

"All I know is that they've known each other since they were young. Their parents were great friends." Hotch said.

"Wait, didn't Emily say that Peters was a troublemaker at Yale?" JJ said, directing it to Garcia, who nodded. "But she never mentioned anything about rejection or that they had a history or anything."

"Yale? I thought that dude was a proud GWU alumnus?" Rossi said.

"Garcia, uncover Peters' file, all of it. Including dating histories and juvenile records." Hotch ordered.

"Uhhh. Let's see." Garcia started. "Jeremy Peters, son of Jessica and Ambassador James Peters, who were incredibly great friends with the Prentisses. Graduated as high school valedictorian from Sidwell Friends, then graduated with honors from GWU. But hold on… there is a closed file that I'm currently trying to unclosed. Oh I love scumbag politician mysteries" She said as she typed away, trying to unravel the tricky file from the database.

"I got it!" She exclaimed, smiling in victory. However, it quickly faded away when she saw what was inside that file. "Oh. Oh my lord. This is a sad sad thing. A very sad thing." She said.

"Garcia." Hotch prodded.

"Right, sorry. But please prepare to get your hearts broken, not that it already is. Anyway, turns out Peters did go to Yale the same time as Emily. However, he transferred after just one semester after a bad incident. A really really bad incident."

"Baby girl" Morgan scolded her for prolonging the information.

"There was a sexual harassment suit filed against Peters by, _get this_ , Emily Prentiss."

Their mouths fell open in shock. "What happened?" Hotch said, as if his heart was not broken enough.

"Turns out Peters has been trying to win her heart since they were teenagers. Then, their paths crossed again at Yale during a rather wild party. Peters was drunk and he dragged Emily outside the house into a secluded area and he tried to rape her. Fortunately, two men who were walking by heard her scream and ran to the scene. They held him down until police arrived. The case was originally filed for attempted rape, but then Peters' lawyer managed to downgrade it to sexual harassment after school officials got involved. Then parents of both parties got _too involved_ and the Prentisses agreed to drop the charges after Jeremy agreed to leave Yale."

"Well if you're looking for the Parents of the Decade, we found them." Morgan said. They were all mortified. What kind of parents were they? They were aware that Emily never had great relationships with them but they never knew it was this bad. Now they _truly_ understand why.

"But isn't it too late for revenge? I mean, why now? What triggered him? JJ asked. She turned to Hotch, "And why is he taunting you?" JJ knew exactly why, but she still had to ask as to not raise any suspicions within the team. It wasn't her news to tell.

He was silent for a moment. "They saw each other at the ball. I'm guessing that's the first time they've seen each other again. He somehow got Emily to dance with him. But then I cut in because I saw how uncomfortable she was. She was very sick that night and I knew dancing with him was not helping." He explained softly. The team was a little surprised at his expressions. For once, he was not stoic, instead they saw the longing and anger and… love.

/

Minutes turned to hours. The temperature is dangerously decreasing. Still, they are not close to finding her. All of Peters' property that could potentially hold the freezing has been searched. The man in question? He refused to answer any question without a subpoena or a warrant.

"I fucking hate politics" Dave muttered as he and Hotch left Peters office.

Hotch was snapped out of his thought when his phone rang. "Garcia."

"Sir, didn't you say that the mayor ordered a press blackout?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I think he might be a little involved. It's just a hunch, but still. But I need you to get back so I can explain clearly."

"Alright. We're on our way back."

As they settled back to the conference room, Garcia started explaining the new development. "So, I still have nothing on the signal tracking, but I've crossed out 16 countries already so it might take me a few minutes. I mean, if they just approved my budget request for a system upgrade, this would've been a whole lot easier."

"Garcia."

"Right. Sorry. So the mayor, he's related to Peters, in case you didn't know. So when I found about that, I hacked into their emails and phones and found sketchy conversations."

"What? How did you get those?" JJ asked.

"I did a thing." She said.

"Garcia, if this is illegal-"

"Sir, with all due respect, you knew from the get go that I am very capable of very illegal things in the tech world. Now, I can make it all seem legal for you if you want that in the reports. However, if you want me to fully disclose in the reports what I _actually_ did, then I will. And I will take full responsibility, even if it means losing my job, because right now, I could care less about protocols and legality. Right now, I need to find my best friend, and my teammate, and my sister. And we're running out of time!" Garcia answered without even taking a breath. Her voice breaking at the last sentence.

Hotch slightly nodded. She was right. Jobs be damned, they need to find her. "Go ahead."

And with that, the conversation exchanges between Peters and the mayor flashed on the big screen.

"He's helping that son of a bitch" Morgan snarled.

"He might not even know." Rossi added.

"If he didn't, then why did he order the press blackout? What's next? To expunge the charges against Peters?" JJ added.

"There's no way in hell-"

"Guys! It pinged! It's not an exact location but I guess it's near. I have 3 locations in Woodbridge. Sending coordinates through your phones now. Oh- Oh and get this, two of them is under the name of Mayor Wahlberg's wife." Garcia said.

"But they'd want a warrant." Reid said.

"How fast can you get us the warrants?" Hotch asked JJ.

She huffed. "How fast can you sit down?" She winked before walking out of the conference room.

/

The team, together with the local PD and SWAT, found themselves in an abandoned building that was under the name of Wahlberg's wife. The other two locations turned out to be bogus, a trick to deflect attention. They're hoping this is the right one.

Soft entry was the tactic. However, they were met with Peters' men as soon as they entered then a shoot-out happened. There were not much of them so it didn't last long.

Hotch led Morgan and Rossi on a basement-like room downstairs. They separated to check the area. He took the north part of the room.

"Took you long enough, Agent." The chilling voice of a man standing by a door greeted him.

"Where is she?" He said, pointing the gun at Peters.

"She's in this room, probably freezing to death." Hotch scowled even more. "Now, Agent. Only I know the code of this door. You kill me, you kill Emily. And you make one wrong move, this place blows up." It was obvious that Peters was already getting agitated. The hand that was holding a gun pointing to Hotch was shaking, and the other that was holding the detonator was also shaking.

"Why'd you do it?" Hotch decided to use it to their advantage, but this plan could also backfire.

"She didn't want me! Nobody rejects me."

"You tried to rape to her."

"That's what the bitch said! She was enjoying it."

"No, Jeremy. She didn't want you. It was as simple as that. And you? You couldn't take that rejection well. You do not like women looking down on you. You think you're superior to them, but you're not. Actually, Jeremy, you're a coward. You feel strong by holding them down and killing them? Pathetic. The lowest of the low among killers. Emily is a strong-willed woman. She's independent and she knows what she wants, and that wasn't you-"

"And you think she wants you?" Peters interrupted, already infuriated. "She's just using you to get what she wants. She wants your job, Agent. She's fucking her way to the top because that's the way she is. And after she's done, when she got what she finally wanted, she'll leave you in the dirt. She does not deserve to be happy!"

"That's what you think. Do you remember the ball? You asked her to dance with you. Did you feel how disgusted she was? Did you feel how her body moved away from yours? That's what triggered you, isn't it? You hated the fact that she's rejected you one more time-"

"Enough!" With that, Peters started shooting. Hotch shot back and hit Peters on the chest, immediately taking him down.

Hotch and Reid ran to the door with a SWAT, who was ready to break the door open, by-passing the code. "No. Wait! It's also a detonator. If you by-pass it, this place will blow up. We need to type the code in to shut it down."

"We don't have much time." Hotch said. But Reid just ignored him and started mumbling to himself. After a few seconds, he typed something and the green light blinked.

They both sighed in relief. Hotch gave him a grateful nod and opened the door. A thick fog greeted them followed by immediate shivers. The room was a freaking freezer.

"Emily!" Hotch immediately went to her. He tried feeling for a pulse and breathed when he found one. A very weak pulse, but still. Emily was unresponsive though and they weren't sure if she's breathing or not. A person from SWAT managed to cut the metal shackles tying Emily to the chair. Hotch immediately carried her out of the building where the paramedics was waiting.

He was horrified when he finally got a good look of her. Her hair had frost on them, so was her forehead. She was too pale and her leg looked _too_ broken. He held her hand and cried for her as the medic gave her first aid.

"Hotch, you're bleeding." JJ said, suddenly beside him. "Let's get you checked out."

He looked at his arm. He didn't even realized that he got hit by Peters. "I'm- I'm fine. I need to be with Emily."

"Hotch, c'mon. Let them do their jobs and help Emily, okay? We'll follow the ambulance to the hospital. But please, let them you check you too."

With that, Hotch reluctantly let go of Emily's hand and let JJ lead him to the other ambulance. He watched them take her into the ambulance and drive away. As the medic was tending on his wound, he only had one thought. _He can't lose Emily._


	18. Chapter 18

4 hours. 4 hours and the doctor still hasn't come out for any updates on Emily. The whole team was silently sitting in the waiting room, gathering strength from each other, or at least whatever they have left.

JJ sat beside Hotch. She was the only one who knew how deep his affection for her best friend was. She understood.

"You know," she started softly, quietly enough that the others won't hear clearly, "Emily and I were at lunch that afternoon that we got case. She was asking for… advice." She huffed and gave a quick smile. "She was worried about your date."

Hotch gave her a rather surprised look.

"Don't worry, it's not you. It's just that… she said it felt too right, that she's probably doing something wrong just because _it felt too right._ "

Hotch gave a quick smile. Only Emily would have that kind of logic.

"But I can assure you that she was still excited about your date." She sighed, "god, Hotch, I've never seen her eyes sparkle like that as when she was talking about you. You make her happy, I can see that too, and she said that you make her feel safe and loved. She will be stubborn and will try to pull away but don't give up on her now. She needs us now more than ever. She needs you."

Hotch looked at her and could see the conviction in her eyes. JJ was right. Emily will try to pull away, but he will not give up her. _Never._ So he nodded and said, "We've come too far to give up now. She and the kids are my life"

/

7 hours. 7 hours and still nothing.

Hotch was already tempted to demand and scare everyone on the nurse's attention, if not for the doctor that entered the waiting room.

"Family of Emily Prentiss." The team immediately stood up and walked towards her. Even in the state they were in, they were still an intimidating group.

"It took a while but we've managed to rewarm her core temperature. Right now, it's not on the normal side as we wanted it to be but it will gradually get there. She is currently on warmed IV fluid and heated and humidified oxygen. Fortunately, she did not suffer any frostbites or gangrene bad enough to cost her limbs. Her left leg was severely broken in two places. We've managed to repair that but it's going to take some time before she can walk on it and regain full function. Other than that, her body has suffered a lot of trauma. 2 fractured ribs, a concussion, and a lot of bruising on her torso. There's also swelling on her liver which suggests blunt force trauma. I really hope you caught whoever did this to her."

The team was horrified at what they just heard. Garcia was sobbing, leaning on Morgan for support. JJ did not try to fight her tears and had a supportive hand on Hotch's arm. He was fighting his tears back, trying to be strong for them and for Emily.

"Was- was there any sign of sexual assault?" He asked. He _had_ to ask. The rest did not have the right amount of courage to do so. But Hotch – he needed to know. He needed to know how to handle Emily's recovery.

"No. No. There were no clear indications of that." All of them let go of a breath they didn't even know they were holding. At least there was a tiny silver lining. "I should warn you though. Due to the severity of her condition, there are a lot of possible complications during her recovery; pneumonia, heart arrhythmia, ventricular fibrillations, cardiac arrest, and even death. She's not out of the woods yet. She will be in intensive care for now until we deem fit to transfer her to a private room. However, due to her delicate condition, she currently has a weak immune system. While she's in there, you can see her one or two at a time during visiting hours."

The entire team nodded at her, still at lost for words. "It's going to be a rough road for her and she would need all the support she can get." She gave them a slight smile. "I suggest you all go home for the night. Visiting hours are from 8am-11am and 2pm-6pm daily."

Hotch responded for them. "Thank you, doctor. We will be back tomorrow. If anything happens tonight, please give me a call. My contact information are on her file."

The group stood in silence for quite a while, trying to grasp all of the information thrown to them.

"Well, you heard her. There's no use for us staying the night here. We should all go home and get some rest." Rossi said, breaking the silence.

"But… she'll be all alone again" Garcia said quietly.

"Baby girl," Morgan put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, "there will be a lot of nurses with her for tonight. We have to trust that they will take care of our princess."

"Let's go home" Hotch said quietly.

/

Hotch had convinced Strauss to give the team the next two days off. He wanted an entire week but she went all snippy about it. Mostly about the fact that the news about what Peters had done and Mayor Wahlberg's involvement on it had spread and the media had its claws on it immediately.

He wasn't stupid. He knew it was JJ who gave the word out, but she had a point. It was her way of getting back at them, which he was very willing to over-look. Now, Peters is in jail and he'll make sure he'd stay in there the rest of his life. Wahlberg was forced to go on an indefinite leave as the investigation was going on. He'd also make Wahlberg will get what he deserves.

The team has managed to coordinate a schedule for Emily's visits, even during the work days. There was an unspoken rule that Emily would not be left alone during visiting hours.

Rossi was the very first to visit the next day. He figured that 8am was still too early for most them, especially for Hotch who needed time with his kids.

"Hey kiddo." He whispered as he sat on the chair beside her bed, afraid that if he made it loud enough, it will break her. You couldn't blame him though. She looked too fragile and it broke his heart. She was hooked up to machines he couldn't even decipher which wire goes to what.

The doctors and nurses encouraged them to talk to her even though she was unconscious. There is no particular scientific explanation, but there have been accounts from patients who said that they could hear what was happening around them while they were unconscious, even for a long period of time.

He held her hand very softly. "You keep fighting in there alright? We've got it all covered out here, but we definitely need you back. I don't think we'll survive without you."

He sighed. "Everyone knows I'm not the best person when it comes to marriages, and consequently, families. I don't have kids, nor do I know how it feels like to have one. But then, one day I decided to come out of retirement and come back to the BAU. This brunette woman walked in and immediately I saw in her that she's very determined and very passionate about her work. As I work with her, I realized that she's not just an amazing colleague and agent, she's also an amazing person. Eventually, I found myself being very fond of her. Emily, you are like the daughter I never had. I would be broken if I were to lost you. So please, hang in there. Fight with all you've got. I know you will. Love you, kiddo."

Rossi is not the most articulate person when it comes to his feelings. He does not really open up to anyone. But this time – this time he thought, _it was worth it._ Emily is worth it. Worth his words, worth his time. He spent more than an hour sitting there with her, mostly in silence, but occasionally telling her fun stories of the FBI way back in his days.

Garcia came in next. As always, Rossi was stunned by her rather bright outfit that perfectly screams "GARCIA." However, the look on her face obviously didn't match what she was wearing. She had a very glum look on her face and he understood why.

As he said his goodbye, it was Garcia's turn to sit on the rather comfortable chair. "Oh gumdrop. First of all, I want to scold you. Don't you dare run off from us like that ever again." Her voice was in a quiet, mocking tone. "I swear to god, Emily Prentiss. I am very tempted to put a chip tracker inside of you."

She wasn't even kidding. She really had thought about it, not just for Emily, but for everyone on the team. Since they all have the tendency to run off. But she means well. She just wants to know that everyone in her family is safe.

"It was _hell_ , Emily." Her voice broke. "Watching you there, almost lifeless, I couldn't- I couldn't imagine what you must have been through. It kills me just seeing you like that, and seeing you now. So, don't you dare give up, Emily Prentiss. Not now, not ever, because we're certainly not giving up on you. We love you and stubborn ass too much."

Morgan and Reid were more of silent visitors respectively. They were content in just sitting there, watching Emily breathe, watching her live and fight for her life. Though, occasionally, they would hold her hand and make their presence known to her.

/

JJ made her first visit in the afternoon. She took her place on the chair beside her bed and took her hand. Trying to convey that she's there, and trying to convince herself that Emily's still here too. "Hi, Em." She whispered.

"I miss you." She sighed. "We miss you. I know- I know that things will probably never be the same after all this, especially for you. But I promise you, we will still be here. We will always be here, no matter how many times you pull away. I mean, you probably already know that we're all stubborn here. Love you, Em."

JJ had a hunch. It's going to be tough road, knowing Emily. She's going to blame herself, will try to pull back from them, as far as possible. She will lock it all away like she always does. But this one – JJ knows this one is too dangerous to be locked away. It could explode and destroy her from within. The minute that happens, she knows they will lose her.

She sat there the rest of her visit, just watching her best friend and hoping for her to wake up soon. In the next hour, the doctor came in for her rounds and so she was able to get an update on Emily's condition. She immediately called Hotch to tell him.

"Hey, the doctor just came in."

"What's the update?"

"Well, her core temperature is thankfully back to normal. But all is still very fragile so they're keeping close tabs on it. They're worried about the swelling on her liver. They said it's going down but not as fast as they expected it to be, so they might try a stronger medication for that in the next 12 hours. Other than those, everything else is the same. She's still not awake, but baby steps… right?"

"Right. I'm about 10 minutes away."

"Okay. See you."

JJ went back in the room to wait for Hotch. It was all so silent aside from the beeping of the heart monitor, and the rather weird sound of the oxygen machine. A few moments later, the beeping sounded so erratic, like her heartbeats were suddenly so fast. _Too fast._ This caught her attention.

"What's happening?" She wondered loudly, suddenly in a panic. She immediately called for help. Then, two nurses and the doctor rushed in. They were saying things that she could not comprehend at the moment.

"What's happening?!" She asked again, but then one of the nurses ushered her out. "Ma'am, you have to stay outside."

Before she knew it, the beeping sounds were gone and all was there was silence. She quickly dialed Hotch on her phone.

"Where are you?!" She said tightly.

"I'm walking up there now. What happened?" Sensing the tight tone in her voice.

"I-" She sighed. "I have no idea. One second she was fine, the next she- she… just get here." Defeated, she sat down on one of the waiting chairs, wiping her tears away. She knew she needed to call the team, but she also needed a moment.

"JJ!" Her head snapped up and she saw Hotch walking towards her.

"What happened?"

She stood. "I don't know. They're still in there. I was just sitting there with her and she seemed as fine as she could be. But then, the beeping started to become erratic, and then I was ushered out."

The rest of the team arrived a few minutes after Hotch made the call. Once again, they sat and waited in silence. When the doctor came out, they all stood up. "What happened?" Hotch asked.

"Heart arrhythmia. A sudden fluttering of the heartbeat. It's a common complication of hypothermia. She's stable for now. Aside from this and the swelling in her liver, her progress has been very good. There's a couple of hours left for visitors. You might want to use up that time."

"We will. Thank you, doctor."

/

They let Hotch use the remaining visiting hours since he's the only one who hasn't seen her.

He took his place on the chair beside, just what everybody else had done earlier that day. He took her hand and brought it to his lips to give it a light kiss.

"Oh sweetheart." He whispered as he took in her appearance, pale and fragile. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He murmured into her hand.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you. I'm sorry I didn't do enough to protect you. I'm sorry that you felt so alone in all of this. If I could take away all your pain, if I could trade places with you, I would. Please don't leave me. I don't-" He sighed, finally letting a few tears fall from his eyes. "I promise you, sweetheart, you will never be alone anymore. I promise you."

Hotch just kept her hand close to his face, giving it light kisses and murmuring reassurances and sweet nothings to her.

At first, he didn't notice it. But the second time it happened, he stopped. Emily's hand moved on its volition. A very light move, maybe just a twitch, but it's a movement. Then he looked at her and he saw her eyes seemingly trying to open. So he waited.

And he was not disappointed. The precise moment Emily opened her eyes, his breath hitched. He greeted her with a rather tearful smile.

"Hi, sweetheart." He said softly.


	19. Chapter 19

Emily was transferred to a private room a few hours after she regained consciousness. The team was very thankful for it since they could spend the rest of their day off visiting her.

Hotch, on the other hand, was conflicted. He's still pissed that Strauss did not give them a week off after almost 4 months of non-stop travelling for cases leading up to this one. His team deserved that. But after today, he would have to go back to work and Emily would be alone again. He used up most of his emergency days for Maya during her accident. Though he still have roughly a week of allowed days left for the year, he cannot decide whether to use them now or later when she gets home.

Emily had definitely noticed how Hotch seemed to back away from the group when they arrived. She made a mental note to ask him about it when the rest of them go home. She's just assuming that he'll stay a little longer. She's still not at 100%, but she could give short answers to their questions. Thankfully they didn't push and was happy just sitting in there with her. Emily felt the same. Although she was still lying in bed, only prompt up by a few pillows, she's very enthusiastic to listen to their stories, conversations, and banters.

JJ was sitting on Emily's bedside. She was telling Morgan something when she felt Emily's hand touched hers. She immediately looked at her, but before she could ask her brunette best friend if she needed something, Emily asked her a question in her still raspy voice that the best she could was something a little louder than a whisper. "Where's Dave?"

 _Huh._ None of them even noticed that he left. "Dave's just taking a phone call outside." Hotch answered for them. They all nodded at him. Though he himself did not know what the phone call was about.

When Dave came back though, he also parted away from the cheerful group. "That was Strauss." He said nonchalantly as he took a seat beside Hotch.

"I was trying to convince her to give us tomorrow and Friday off. That at least we'd still have the rest of the week to recuperate."

"But?"

"She didn't budge, says a stand-down is all she could give us for the rest of the week."

"Why am I not surprised?" Hotch sighed.

"Oh, and she said she wants to see you first thing in the morning tomorrow."

"Again. Not surprised."

"You staying the night?"

Again, his mind was in conflict. He wanted to stay, actually planned on it. But an early meeting with Strauss really does mean _early._ The hospital was a 3 5-minute drive from his house. This would mean he'd get in the office rather late if he stays the night, unless he leaves at maybe 4am. But that would mean leaving while Emily was asleep that's just… not right.

So with that, he resigned. "I think I'll just stay a little longer, make sure she's settled in for the night. She was looking for you, by the way." He said, nodding to Emily's direction. Dave smiled and walked towards her.

The group stayed for more than two hours and Hotch was surprised that Emily had stayed awake the entire. Probably the longest that she'd been awake since she regained consciousness. He knew Emily surprised herself too, but it's a good thing. It's great progress for her. It was hard for everyone to say good bye, but visiting hours were almost over and they had to go back to work the next day. Hotch did not miss the sad smile Emily had on her face though. She too hated to say goodbye.

When the group left, Hotch took the seat on the edge of her bed again, as oppose to the couch he was sitting on a while ago. "Hi."

"Hey." She smiled, automatically reaching for his hand, which he gladly accepted with a light kiss on her knuckles.

"You had a good day? You were smiling a lot." He said softly.

"Yeah. It was a good day. I missed them. I can't wait to go home." She declared.

"I have to go to the office early tomorrow."

"Oh." She knew what it meant. "Okay."

He brought her hand back to his lips. "I'm sorry, love." He sincerely said, not even mindful of the new endearment.

"It's okay." She gave an encouraging smile, despite still being in shocked by his choice of term.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep, okay?" She nodded. If his estimation is correct, there's still at least 2 rotation visits from the nurses left before he leaves. So he's glad he could at least stay with her for those.

"Ready for dinner?" He asked, scooting the hospital bed tray near them. She nodded again. She just wanted to get better so she could leave this goddamn place already.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Just like what he did when she was in the hospital the last time, Hotch insisted on feeding her. She let him. She let him fuss over her because she knows he needed to. That's just how amazing he is.

When it was done and the silence became unbearable, it was Emily who spoke. "You called me _love._ " She said shyly. Hotch immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at her. However, his face immediately softened upon seeing the shy and unsure look on her face.

So he smiled at her. "Is that a problem? Does it bother you?" Emily shrugged, still not meeting his eyes.

"Hey, look at me." He said softly. "I'm going to say some things, but promise me that you will stop me anytime you get uncomfortable."

She nodded. "I promise."

He didn't know where or how to start, so he kissed her hand again and sighed. "I wanted to take you out to dinner. A nice, beautiful date, because an amazing woman like you deserves nothing less. I wanted to use that time to tell you… to tell you how I feel, everything that I feel. But then this whole ordeal happened and made me think for a second that maybe the universe was against us. That thought went away in a millisecond and I said _screw the universe._ Now, here I am, trying to declare my feelings for you in a hospital. Not the ideal place, but this whole ordeal, this whole thing, what happened to you, how I almost lost you – it reaffirmed everything."

He sighed again. Tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. Emily was no better as tears flooded her rosy cheeks.

"I love you, Emily Prentiss. I have loved you for a long time and I always will. I know- I know this is the least of your problems right now, but I just really wanted to tell you now because then I might chicken out again and I might not get another chance. I love you, Emily. You don't even have to respond to anything. You can ignore me for the rest of the time, but I love you. I really, truly do."

"Aaron-" She whispered but her voice cracked from crying.

"You don't have to say anything right now, Em." But Emily just shook her head and cupped his cheek with her hand that was previously holding his, stroking it with her thumb.

"I love you too." She said to him. He looked for any signs of uncertainty in her eyes but didn't find any.

"Really?" His eyes finally widening in surprise.

She nodded. "I really, truly do. I love you, Aaron Hotchner."

Their first kiss happened in not the most ideal place for first kisses, but it was just as magical, romantic, and loving as they expected it to be. They ought for it to be longer but Emily pulled away and hissed in pain.

"What is it? What hurts?" He asked as Emily tried to control her breathing again. Sharp and throbbing pain occurring in her still healing leg in seconds' interval.

"My leg."

"I'm going to call the nurse. They can give you something for it." But Emily caught his hand, immediately stopping him.

"Aaron, please," she shook her head and begged in a teary voice. The sight of her in pain was ultimately breaking his heart. "If you do that, the medicine will make me fall asleep and I don't want to because that would mean you're leaving."

 _God as if his heart wasn't broken enough already._ Aaron sighed and palmed her tear-stained cheek. "Oh sweetheart." He kissed her forehead. "We will have the rest of our lives to spend together from here on, I promise. God forbid if I let you out of my sight again. But for now, we have to focus on getting you better, and that includes dealing with the pain. If you don't want me to go, then I won't. But we have to deal with the pain now, alright?"

Emily was still vehemently shaking her head. "I'm scared. If I sleep, if I close my eyes, it will take me back to that place again. I don't- I don't want to be there again, Aaron. Please."

He pulled a sobbing Emily tightly against him, trying to calm her down. Rubbing his hand up and down her back, placing kisses on her hair, soothing her. " _Shhh._ Calm down, my love." He whispered in her ear. "Your mind will play tricks on you because you're still healing and it's all fresh. But you have to focus on what's real. And what's real is that you're safe. You're not there anymore. You're back here with me and you're safe, alright?"

He silently cursed himself a thousand and one times for even considering leaving her, for assuming that everything's alright with her, barely two days after she was rescued. Moments later, Emily was still crying, though they were only silent sobs and sniffs, plus little coughs which he definitely noticed earlier too. A little panic shot through him when looked at the monitor that shows her current vitals. Though her heartbeat sounded normal to him, he knew that her blood pressure spiked up. So, as subtle as he could, he reached for the call button and pressed it.

The nurse came in a few moments later. "What can I help you with?" She asked by the door with a gentle smile. Judging from the way she looked at Emily, Hotch assumed that the woman was expecting that he would ask for sedative or something to calm her down.

"Aaron-" Emily tried to protest, pulling away from him.

"She's experiencing sharp pains in her leg. But do you think you can give her something mild for tonight? Not the ones that could make her drowsy?"

"Sure. I'll be right back." When she left, Hotch turned back his attention to Emily.

"I'm gonna ask you a question and I need an honest answer, okay?" He said to her, to which she nodded.

"Do you _want_ me to stay?" She gave a faint nod, not even looking at him.

He kissed her hand again. If she wants him to stay, he will stay. Strauss would not be happy but, for once, he didn't care one bit. It's not like he was going to bail on their meeting, he's just rescheduling it for the afternoon or late morning. Just until his mother can get to the hospital after dropping the kids to school. At this state, he's entirely sure he doesn't want Emily to be left alone.

The nurse came back with another nurse in tow. She gave Emily a mild pain reliever as promised, which the brunette gladly took. The other nurse had two thicker pillows and an extra blanket in his hands.

"I'm going to change the pillow under your leg, okay?" She warned Emily, who nodded at her. She winced a little when the nurse lifted her leg a little higher while the other piled up the new pillows under it.

"Is that comfortable for you?" The nurse asked as she placed her leg back down. She nodded again. "Now, here's an extra blanket for your leg" She said, placing the blanket over her leg. "Keep the muscles warmer to somehow alleviate the pain, alright?"

Thanks to the nurses, Emily looked much more comfortable than earlier. However, she knew that her little breakdown earlier had probably scared Hotch off. Not to mention that she's embarrassed herself to the end of the century.

"You ready to talk about it?" Of course, he would not ask her if she _wants_ to talk about it because it's not even an option. She needs to talk about it.

She shook her head, which was not surprising to him. "Alright." He whispered. "Hey," she looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "I love you" he said with a smile, reassuring her that he's in this all in, all the time – good and bad.

Emily could not help but smile back. How can she not? Just hearing those words from him that she never though would ever happen makes her heart want to leap from her chest. The way he looks at her and those affectionate gestures that he's showing her makes her so loved that she hasn't felt before.

It's terrifying, especially after what she's been through. She's only just starting to build herself back up. At one point, it made her think if she could reciprocate everything, but she's more than willing to try. Because she wants this. She wants him.

"I love you too."


	20. Chapter 20

_No. No. Stop. Please. Stop._

Hotch woke up to Emily's whimper early the next morning. Emily persuaded him into sharing the bed. The rest of their night was rather uneventful, aside from the fact that she was fighting sleep too hard. _Don't let me fall asleep_ , she told him. He just hummed his answer. He didn't fight her. Instead, he focused on holding her, reassuring her that she's safe, that he's with her now, and let her healing do its job. Eventually, Emily fell asleep, her body giving up to exhaustion. Not too long after, once he's sure that she was settled, Hotch succumbed to sleep too.

"Em." He shook her shoulder lightly. "Sweetheart, wake up." Still nothing. "Emily, wake up!" He called a little louder. With that, Emily opened her eyes but she still seemed out of it.

"So cold. Why is it so cold?" She wheezed out. She suddenly sat up, as if she's trying to hop off the bed. It would've been disastrous if not for Hotch's quick reflex.

"Hey! Hey. It's okay." He said, grabbing her shoulders to keep her still.

"It's so cold! Please let me out!" She pleaded.

"Emily." He held her hand to his chest, hoping that somehow she could feel his heartbeat and calm breathing. His other hand cupping her cheek. "Sweetheart, calm down. It's not cold. See? It's warm. You're not there anymore." He continued to talk her down.

"Just take deep breaths. Just like that." He watched until Emily finally took a deep breath and calmed down. "There you go." He said gently, but all Emily could do was hug him and hang onto him as she realized what just happened.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry."

He kissed the side of her head. "It's alright, love. Nothing to apologize for. You're okay."

/

Hotch's mother took charge of the rest of the morning. It was uncomfortable for Emily at first. Yes, she's met Sharp and has grown quite close to her. However, this was a different setting.

But Hotch's mother was having none of it. She was nice, and concerned, and motherly to her. Eventually, Emily gave in. She actually loved the feeling of having a motherly-figure take care of her in times like this. She's never experienced it before, as far as she can remember. If her memory serves her right, it was always the nannies who took care of her. She remembered the moments when she was sick, and as a kid, all you've ever wanted was mom or dad. But Emily had neither. Not that she hated the nannies she's had all those years. She was grateful for them, caring for a stranger's young daughter instead of their own kids. But there is still a tiny spot in her heart that longed to experience a mother's care.

"These hospital food look so bland, don't they?" she suddenly spoke while cleaning up a little what Emily had for breakfast. Emily managed to feed herself, despite Sharp's disapproval. "Did you even like that soup?"

She huffed and smiled. "It didn't really have a taste."

"I do not know why they think this is nutritious." Sharp said, shaking her head. She then sat beside Emily and put her hand lightly above the young woman's. "How about I bring in some soup for you tomorrow? Would you like that?"

"Oh. Uhm. It's really okay. I don't want you to go into the trouble of-"

"Nonsense. I'll make some and bring it in tomorrow, alright? At least you'll have a hearty breakfast."

"Okay. Thank you." She whispered.

The breakfast conversation was temporarily cut short by the nurse who was on rotation for that morning. She quickly checked Emily's vitals and fluids. "The doctor ordered a bloodwork for you today. I'll be back in a while for the blood draw and your morning pills." She said before leaving.

To Sharp, Emily suddenly looked too nervous. She wondered if it was because of the blood draw or the pills. Aaron had warned her about Emily's sleeping situation and her nightmares. The medicine will obviously make her sleepy since she's still taking antibiotics.

"Are you alright, honey?" She asked in the sweetest, most motherly tone that Emily had to actually fight back tears.

She hated bloodwork. She can't explain why, probably the fact that a huge needle is stuck in your arm and sucking your blood out. Plus, just the general feeling of it makes her cringe. Add the fact that her morning pills combined were strong enough to put her down for an unwanted morning nap. _God I wished Aaron was here._

But before Emily could answer, the nurse came back and ready for the blood draw.

"Do you want me to step out?" But Emily shyly shook her head. Sharp smiled at this. She gladly sat with her on the other side of the bed, where the IV is placed. Since that hand had the IV port, Sharp opted to run a comforting hand on Emily's arm instead, while her other hand was soothingly scratching the top of her head. "Don't look and take deep a breath." She said softly and calmly. Emily followed through and looked the other way.

"There you go. All done." The nurse said and Emily sighed in relief. She handed Emily four pills which she took two at a time. After making sure that Emily took them, she left.

"Don't worry. Bloodwork makes Aaron nervous too. Since he was a kid and even until now, he's just good a hiding it." She said and Emily actually smiled, picturing a very nervous Aaron in the doctor's office waiting for his blood draw.

Eventually, Emily felt the drowsiness from the medicine but she was trying to fight it off. Just at least until Hotch gets back, she thinks. Sharp noticed this and realized that she has something that could give Emily more comfort. So she stood up and rummaged through the duffel bag that she brought.

"Here. Aaron told me to bring this. I don't know why I remembered just now." She said, laying Emily's favorite blanket on her, covering her up snuggly. Emily smiled and closed her eyes. Just the smell and the feeling of her blanket was enough to bring her comfort.

"Thank you" She whispered sleepily.

"And of course, little Jack insisted that I bring over his favorite story book." She said, showing Emily the very familiar book that she has read to Jack, and even Maya, countless times. _Guess How Much I Love You._ "He gave specific instructions to read it to you _before_ you fall asleep."

Emily gave out a quiet chuckle. "I miss him and Maya." She whispered, more to herself, as she touches the book.

"They miss you too. They're worried but Aaron assured them that you're okay and recovering. They seem to take it well, especially Maya. She was the most worried when you were gone, Jack didn't seem to understand most of it, just the fact that there was a bad guy wanting to hurt them."

"I'm so sorry." Emily said to her.

Sharp shook her head and took Emily's hand in hers. "Honey, you have nothing to apologize for. This isn't your fault. If anything, I should thank you. You selflessly put yourself out there so the kids can be safe. That, to me, is a manifestation of love on a different level. I will be forever grateful." These words prompted Emily's tears to fall, but she also quickly wiped them away. She didn't know how or what to respond to she just nodded.

"Alright, no more tears." She said with a smile. "I know the medicine's making you extremely drowsy now. I can see it in your eyes."

"I want to wait for Aaron." She said, already fighting off her closing eyes.

"Sweetie, he might take a while. So you get your rest now, alright?" Sharp said, soothingly rubbing Emily's hand.

"But-" She didn't want to say it, to admit it to anybody else.

"It's alright, sweetie. You're okay. I'm right here. It's okay" She whispered to Emily until she finally gave up and succumbed to sleep.

/

When Emily woke up again, it was JJ who was sitting beside her, reading a book. She squirmed a little, which caught JJ's attention.

"Hey." JJ greeted.

"Hi. What time is it?"

"Just past 3."

"Wow." She whispered to herself, as she sat up on the bed with JJ's help. It was indeed a surprise. First, she didn't expect to sleep that long, and second, the sleep was rather nightmare-free, or at least she didn't remember any dream.

"Uhmm… where's Aaron?" She asked in a rather shy tone.

JJ gave her a warm smile in return. "He's caught up in a meeting with the Director."

"Oh." She sighed dejectedly. Meetings with the Director usually takes _hours._

There was a deafening silence as the two women looked at each other. It was then JJ who gave out first. She sat on the edge of Emily's bed, facing her and taking her hand in hers. "I know I shouldn't ask this because you'll get annoyed but… how are you?"

Emily's face softened at her friend. She gets asked that a lot, mostly from Hotch, and she knows she'd get more in the following days. But she also knew that her friend meant well, so she'll let it pass.

"I wish I had a concrete answer to give you, but unfortunately, I do not even know how or what I'm feeling."

"Describe it to me then." JJ encouraged her friend.

She took a deep breath, carefully analyzing and organizing her thoughts. "I'm- I'm angry… at myself, because even now, I still let myself fall victim to that son of a bitch. I thought he's just a distant memory in my past. One that I would never revisit ever. I'm angry that Aaron's family – Aaron's! Not mine! – has been put in jeopardy for something they know nothing about. They didn't deserve that." Emily herself was just as surprised as JJ when her voice went louder.

"And you didn't deserve this." JJ said sternly. "It's not your fault. And I don't care if you're tired of hearing that, but I will never get tired of reminding you that until you've accepted it, you hear me?" She almost sounded like a mother.

Emily nodded. She knew better than to fight a very determined and persuasive JJ. It doesn't come out often, but when it does, everyone knows there's no point in fighting her. "What else is in there?" JJ coaxed, nodding towards Emily's heart.

"I'm scared." She admitted, suddenly sounding so small, which made JJ's heart shatter.

"Of what?"

"That I will never be the same; that you guys will see me differently since I knew by default that you had to dig through my past; that Aaron will never love me the same." She whispered that last sentence.

JJ wanted to address all of the points she mentioned, especially the last one, and so she responded to it one by one. "Emily, all of us have fallen victim to an unsub, granted it was in different ways, but it all has the same effect of taking away something from us. Yes, you will never be the same, none of us have. But you have the choice of making it something for the better or not. And I know you, Emily Prentiss. You have risen from the ashes so many times, only to come back stronger each time. It's going to be a tough road. It's going to break you into pieces before it builds you back up again, to a newer and much stronger person."

Emily nodded, forcing herself to believe every word her best friend just said.

"Now about digging through your past, yes we had to. But if anything, Em, I am more amazed of how resilient you are, of how strong you already are and you probably don't even know. No offense, but you've been through so much _shit_ , and here you are, still an amazing person."

"Non-taken." She joked, an attempt to lighten up the mood somehow.

"Now, tell me about Aaron." JJ coaxed, sounding like a mother again, a prying one this time.

Emily looked down and started to fidget with her blanket. "We dropped the L bomb on each other yesterday."

 _L bomb? What was she? 12?_ JJ thought. But physically she just huffed and exclaimed, 'Ugh! Finally! Thought you'll never get to it."

Emily chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm about her love life. Garcia was no better though. "So, what's making you doubt again?"

She shook her head this time and shrugged. "I don't even know. I think… there's still a tiny bit of my mind that screams _no_ , that he was just too emotional about all of this, that one day I'll wake up and he'll be gone. That's what they all do anyway. When it gets complicated – when I get too complicated – they leave. They walk out."

 _Ah, there it is._ Emily thinks she's damaged when she's anything but. JJ knew that it will be complicated, that Emily will be complicated, in all of this. Yes, she maybe cooperative now, but recovery does not only mean time in the hospital. It's going to take a while. Heck, everyone in the team knew. And JJ would bet her first born that if anyone knew it better, it would be Hotch. Yet, he was here and will always be here.

But Emily's fear was valid and rational. JJ can't deny that. Her heart has been broken too many times. Her heart is too beautiful for this cruel world.

"Do you think that he will though? Walk-out on you, I mean."

"I don't know. Maybe." Emily gave a sad smile and shrugged her shoulders. JJ could see the vulnerability in her and it was rather heartbreaking. So JJ didn't push and diverted their conversation into a lighter topic.

/

It was a little after 6pm when Hotch arrived at the hospital. JJ and Emily were not surprised though when the rest of the team also came in the room.

Hotch immediately went to greet her with a sweet kiss on the cheek, not even caring about what the rest of the team might think. "Hi, sweetheart." He whispered only for her to hear.

"Hi," she smiled back. He was gone just as quick as he went to her, again taking place on the couch as Morgan, Reid, Garcia and Rossi gathered beside her, ready to tell her about their day and cheer her up.

"Hey, does anyone want coffee? I'm buying." JJ offered to them. Everyone nodded their agreement, except Hotch who offered to go with her for the coffee run. JJ knew, of course, that Hotch wanted to talk that's why he made the offer accompany her. She was glad to though. She needed to say a few words to him anyway.

"How is she?" He immediately once the door was closed behind them.

"Physically, she's okay, broken leg aside. Even had a good, long nap. Emotionally, she's a mess."

Hotch sighed. He knew that. Of course, he did. That's why he already tasked Garcia to compile a list of the best therapists in DC and Virginia. The FBI shrink would not cut it. He knows Emily can manipulate that one. So they'd need a third party, an outsider, who knows nothing about their job. Someone who will see her for who she is and not be clouded by the judgment of what she does for a living.

They reached the hospital's cafeteria, which surprisingly serves good coffee. They placed their order of 6 grande-sized coffee and 6 sandwiches. Much to JJ's surprise, Hotch placed an additional order of apple juice and sandwich.

"For Emily." He promptly said when he saw her questioning look.

They took a seat as the server prepares their rather large order. Hotch could tell that JJ wanted to say something but she was struggling to. He saw it in her conflicting eyes.

"What is it?" He prompted.

"Emily... she's…" JJ sighed, not even knowing how or where to start. "She's having doubts and fears about you."

His body tensed. "What did she say?"

"She's afraid that you were just too emotional about what happened that's why you dropped the _L_ word. She's afraid that you'll eventually get tired and walk out on her when it gets too complicated, when she gets too complicated. And it _will_ get complicated, Hotch. We all know that."

"But I will never do that to her, you know that too. I will not lose her again."

"I know, of course I do. You're not that kind of man. But right now, she's too demeaning on herself, sees herself as damaged, because of what happened." Hotch just nodded.

"Aaron," JJ called him with a stern tone but soft voice, and he knew he needed to listen, _hard._ "Emily's an emotional mess right now, and it does not help that she's locked up in a room that evidently looks like the place she was locked up in. Aaron, she needs reassurance, needs to be reminded that she's still worth it, that she deserves to be happy too. Remind her that you love her, remind her that you will not walk away. Don't get me wrong, I think it's amazing that you've finally confessed what you feel for each other. She needs all the support that she can get. But I just have to know, to hear straight from you – you're in this for the long haul, right?"

"Of course I am." He answered in heartbeat.

"Good." JJ seemed to accept that. "She's been through so much, Hotch. You, of all people, knows it better. The last thing she needs is her heart getting broken again."

"If I could give her the world and then some, I would. I will do anything to help her find herself again, for her to forgive herself, and make her happy again. She deserves that."

JJ then reached for his hand. "That's all I'm asking. Thank you."

 **A/N: Thank you for your reviews and just for reading this story! I appreciate you guys taking the time!**

 **Anyway, I was hoping to finish this story before I go back to school on Jan 3rd, but I don't see that happening. Lol. I just don't want to rush things with this one even though there's only a few more chapters to go. I hope you guys stick around! Happy Holidays! xx**


	21. Chapter 21

Emily was released from the hospital after two more days, but not without assuring the doctor that she would stay with someone during her recovery. Of course, Hotch all but dictated that Emily would stay with him. Emily, on the other hand, didn't even try to fight him. It was the only way the doctor would release her from that damned place.

Getting her out of the hospital was quite the argument though. It was SOP to get the patient out via wheelchair, which Emily outright refused. She even scared the young nurse who was only doing her job or else she'd get reprimanded for breaking procedures. In the end, she took the wheel chair out of her room and onto to the waiting car. The other argument was whether Emily would use a wheel chair or crutches until she can walk again. She disagreed to both, but that wasn't really a choice. Otherwise, she would not be able to move around. So after taking a few minutes to reconsider, Emily finally agreed to the crutches, thinking that she'd be able move around on her own more than being in the wheel chair.

There was no doubt in Hotch's mind that Emily would be staying with him, even if the doctor didn't suggest it. If it was up to him, he would not let Emily back to her apartment where her privacy was breached. If it was up to him, he would keep her with him _forever._ But it wasn't, and right now, he's happy and content to take care of her and fuss over her and come home to her and sleep and wake up with her by his side. He knows that someday, he will make it permanent.

There were repercussions, of course. He was very much aware of that. The team was very much aware of that. Emily is not the best patient in the world. For a few days that they were home, it was easy. The kids make her happy and occupied, and usually, she'd be happy to just sit with them doing whatever comes to mind. She let Hotch fuss over her, attending to all her needs, made sure she took her pills on time. It even surprised her that for the first few nights, she was nightmare-free. She thought the change of environment made the difference. But boy, were they wrong. They were all wrong.

/

The first time it happened, it was rather _mild._ Hotch was rummaging through the cupboards in the kitchen as he realized that they were already short on groceries. His mother offered earlier that morning as she was going to run some errands, but he refused thinking they still had enough probably to last them until the weekend, where they can all go out to do the shopping. But alas, he was wrong, and now he really needed to go grocery shopping, just at least to get the healthy and basic supplies filled in.

It would just be a quick run, not more than hour. Maya, Jack and Emily were all settled in the living room watching a movie, so he figured it couldn't hurt to leave them for a short while.

"I'm going to have to run to the store real quick. Will you guys be okay?" He asked as he put his jacket on.

"Yeah, dad." Maya answered absentmindedly, eyes still glued on the TV. No sound came from Jack, who was lying on the floor probably already falling asleep.

He walked over on the side of the couch, beside Emily. "You'll be okay?"

She sighed at him, annoyingly, and gave him a tentative smile. "Yeah."

More than thirty minutes have passed and Jack was already asleep on the floor, while Maya was still entranced with the movie. She was sitting beside Emily on the couch, a few inches in distance. She was a little scared of hurting her. She was glancing at her from time to time just to check. However, the next time that she did, she noticed that Emily was crying.

A quick shot of panic ran through her body, but she swallowed it up as she tried to decide what to do.

"Emmy?" she called softly, and that seemed to pull Emily out of her trance. She quickly wiped away her tears and gave the little girl a watery smile.

But Maya was having none of it. So instead, she scooted up beside her and hugged her as tight as she could, being mindful of her still sore body. To her surprise, Emily hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't be sad anymore, Emmy. It's alright now." And that's why Emily loved children. She loved their innocence. And she specifically loves how Maya does not ask the _Why_ questions.

"Love you, sweet girl." She whispered to her.

"Love you too. And you are still a hero, Emmy; you're still my hero – you and dad." And for the first time in a while, Emily felt herself give a genuine smile.

/

The second time it happened, they weren't so lucky. Hotch was whisked away on a Saturday night for an emergency conference call at the Bureau. An explosion at a train station in Washington state. It was supposed to be a free weekend for them, but hey, it comes with the job. It was getting late and he made sure Emily was already in a deep sleep before he leaves. Her pills that she was supposed to take for two weeks straight make her really drowsy so she'd been sleeping early. He kissed Jack goodbye, without waking the sleeping boy up. He caught Maya still awake though, reading a book on her bed.

"Ten more minutes then it's bed time, alright?"

"Yes, dad. Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, I have to leave now. Jack and Emily are already asleep."

She nodded, "how long will you be gone?"

He sighed. "I'm not sure, sweetie. But I'll make it quick as possible. Do not let anyone in. If you hear someone knocking, do not answer, do not make any noise, alright? Grandma will be down here in a while."

"Yes, dad."

"Now, if something happens with Emily that you don't think you or grandma can handle, call Aunt JJ, okay?"

"I understand, dad." Of course she does. Hotch was not surprised by one bit at that. Maya understood more than a 10-year old girl should. It was also a big help that Hotch was honest with her from the start. The moment his daughter approached him and said _"I need to know, dad, so I know how to take care of her,"_ he knew that he needed to be honest about her mental state. He didn't disclose what happened, but he did tell her about how Emily could have horrible nightmares that ends up in screaming and sobbing hysterically, how she might get snappy or even angry because she thinks she's useless, or how she could cry out of blue because she's hurt or she remembers something bad. Maya took all of this in stride, even went as far as reading articles and books on how to help someone like Emily. She wanted to help Emily because Emily was there when they needed her, because Emily was like a mother to her.

So Hotch left, with all confidence in his daughter and his mother that they can handle things, and that it would be peaceful night at home. Emily was already asleep, so it should be easy.

Maya ended up reading for 20 minutes more before deciding that she needed sleep and maybe a glass of water. Sharp came five minutes after Hotch left and was already settled in the guest room, also thinking that it would be a quiet night. As she walked down the hall, she froze as she heard whimpering and crying, _more like sobbing_ , coming for her dad's room where Emily was sleeping.

As a reflex, she immediately ran back to her room to grab her phone and ran to Emily. She could feel the panic starting to rise up when she saw the scene in front of her. Emily was on the floor, sobbing and uttering words that sounded _no_ or _stop_ or _please._ She swallowed down her panic and ran to her. The very first thing she decided on was to try and calm down the hysterical woman in front of her.

So knelt down and reluctantly reached out to softly touch her shoulder, just to let her know she was there. "Emmy." She started.

"Emmy, please wake up. It's just a bad dream. Emmy, you're okay." But Emily was still crying. "Emily, it's me, Maya. Please calm down. You're okay." Still to no avail. So Maya decided to run to her grandma and wake her up.

However, no matter what they do or how they try, Emily was still hysterical. And they knew it wouldn't do her any good. That's when Maya decided it was time to make the call.

"Agent Jareau."

"Aunt JJ?"

"Maya?"

"Yeah. Uhm, we need help. Emmy's not good." Her voice broke, finally letting her emotions show up. "She's on the floor and she's been crying and we can't calm her down."

The moment Maya mentioned that they needed help, JJ was already getting her coat on. She knows it's bad.

"Where's your dad, sweetie?"

"He had to go to an emergency meeting. Grandma's with us, but she's still crying, Auntie J. I'm so worried." JJ could hear the tears in her voice.

"Okay. It's gonna be okay, Maya. I'm headed there now. Five minutes, okay?"

She sniffed, "Okay. Please hurry."

Thank goodness JJ didn't live that far away from them that she managed to get there in five minutes as promised. Maya opened the door for her when she assured the little girl that it was really her on the other side. She made sure to reset the lock on the door before racing up to Emily.

When she got in the room, she saw Aaron's mother on the floor, holding Emily close to her as she tries to calm her down. But still, her brunette best friend was beyond help.

"How did she get on the floor?" JJ inquired.

"I don't know. I just heard her crying and when I came in she was already on the floor." Maya answered.

"Okay." She whispered to herself before turning to her friend. "Em, honey. It's me, JJ. We need to get you back on the bed, alright?" The two older women managed to get Emily back on the bed without a problem.

But Emily just went back to her curled up position. "Alright, can you guys please get her a cold towel and a cold glass of water?" Maya and Sharp both and dispersed to get her requests.

"Em, what's going on? You can tell me. Talk to me, Emily." JJ urged her best friend, smoothing the hair that was covering her face. She managed to get Emily to sit up. She sat beside her and Emily all but clung into her. She cuddled into JJ just how she would cuddle into Hotch for comfort.

When Maya finally handed the cold towel and Sharp returned with the glass of water, JJ politely requested them to step out and try to get a hold of Hotch, which they gladly accepted.

JJ started wiping Emily's face with the cold towel. She was starting to burn up from all the crying. " _Shhh._ It's alright, Em." She whispered to her over and over again.

"JJ" Emily choked out as her hand clutched tightly on JJ's shirt, still crying but not as hysterical as earlier.

"Yes, Em. It's me. I'm right here." She cooed, hoping to finally soothe her friend. "Can you tell me what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" She asked, almost sounding like a mother comforting her little child.

"He's – he's he-re. I-I saw him. His fa-ce" she tried to say between the hiccups. "I-m scared, J-J. So-sc-ared."

"Oh honey. It wasn't real, alright? It was just a bad dream, He's locked up. That monster is locked away for good and I promise you – I promise you that it will stay that way. I promise you he will never get near you again." JJ deduced that it was probably how Emily ended up on the floor. Her dream felt so real to her that she actually tried to run.

When Emily have somewhat calmed down a few minutes later, JJ managed to pull back a little and assess fully her best friend. Long story short, she looked like a mess, eyes puffy and cheeks blotchy. "Here, drink up." She offered the glass of cold water which Emily absentmindedly took.

"I need you to lie back down, alright?" She said, all but softly pushing the brunette down until she was lying down again.

"JJ-" she started to protest.

"It's okay, Em. I'll stay with you until Aaron comes back. It's okay. And you don't even have to sleep if you don't want to." That was a trick. JJ knew that Emily's body was worn out and eventually it will succumb to the exhaustion. But she will not push her. The trick was always to not push her.

"Tell me a story." The brunette softly whispered her request, suddenly sounding so small and vulnerable.

"Okay. I can do that." She gladly agreed. "Let me tell you about the time Spencer almost shot Hotch in the crotch…" she started, hoping that Emily was calm enough to eventually sleep.

/

Aaron came back at almost midnight, almost two hours after Emily's outburst. He was caught in a panic when he saw how much missed calls and messages he had that it took everything in him not to break the speeding limit driving back to his place.

He greeted his mother who was in the kitchen making tea for him and JJ. He went to his room to find JJ beside a sleeping Emily. JJ nodded at him as she pulled herself from the bed and left the room.

He sighed as he walked towards her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before changing to his lounge clothes. Then he met JJ in the kitchen. His mother offered them tea before saying her good night.

"Hotch she's-"

"I know."

"I've never seen her breakdown like that." JJ said fighting the tears that were threatening to fall. "I think there's something that she's not telling us."

"What do you mean?"

"She was locked up in there for hours before we got the live stream, right? I know we already have the facts for a sufficient report, but what if something else had happened in there? Something that only Emily and Peters know?" They both knew they're thinking of the same thing, but they're also hoping that they're wrong.

He sighed. Whatever it is, _if there really is something_ , he knows it will be hard to get it out of Emily. "She has an appointment with the therapist tomorrow - the best in DC, specializes with trauma patients. I'm hoping it will work for her."

"Okay, do you need someone to drive here there? I can go if-"

"It's alright. I can go. Actually, I think I'll take a few days off. I still have remaining days banked. I'll just introduce the temporary agent tomorrow morning then I'm off. If you want to go though, in her other appointments, just tell me and we can arrange it."

JJ nodded. "Okay. Maybe the team can rotate visiting too. Might be good for her."

"Thank you, JJ, for everything." He said sadly.

She reached up to touch his arm. "Hotch, we're family, remember? We look out for each other."

/

Later that evening, when JJ had left; when he had kissed his kids good night, he finally was able to fully see Emily. He could see her tear-stained cheeks and his broke for her.

He winced inwardly though when Emily stirred and opened her eyes as he lay down beside her.

"Aaron?" she called, voice still a little broken.

"Yes, love. I'm home. How are you feeling?" He asked, cuddling her close to him, stroking her hair.

He didn't get an answer though. Instead, Emily whimpered slightly and cuddled closer to him.

"Love you." He heard her whisper just as when he thought that she was already asleep.

She didn't see his smile, though he knew she could feel it. He gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "I love you too, sweetheart." _I promise you, we'll figure this all out._


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Thank you guys for reading this story and leaving out comments and reviews. You guys are awesome! I've started back on school last week and it's been stumping me! I just finished week 2 of this semester and I already feel like I've been through finals week already! Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that updates may not be as regular as it used to be. And yes, a few more chapters to go, just trying to decide how to about it. Thank you guys for sticking around! xx**

 **Oh, and here's a happy, fluffy chapter.**

"Just a few more steps." The PT instructed Emily as they were nearing the end of their first physical therapy session.

Emily though was already mentally shouting curses she's known in every language. It hurt like hell that she actually considered just not walking ever again. But that only lasted a few seconds as she was determined to get back to her job. She doesn't do _rest_ very well.

 _It's going to hurt a little on the first day since you haven't been using the leg for a while, but the succeeding sessions should be easy for you._ That's what the PT told her. But it didn't hurt a little, it hurt A LOT.

"There you go. All done." Emily sighed as she reach the end of the bar she was holding onto. The PT helped her put the leg brace back on as Hotch approached her. The staff of the clinic were nice enough to let him go in with her for the first session, and boy was Emily glad for that.

Emily got up with her crutch and they started walking out of the clinic. Hotch helped her into the passenger seat before taking the driver's seat. Once they were settled in, Hotch grabbed her hand and said, "I'm proud of you."

She squeezed his hand back, acknowledging the encouragement he just gave her, but she couldn't help the few tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Em?"

She shook her head and quickly wiped her tears away. "It's stupid."

"Tell me anyway." He coaxed. Obviously it wasn't _stupid_ if it affects her this much.

"I just – I was in so much pain and I just thought I couldn't do it."

"But you did."

She huffed and gave a quick smile. "I know. I guess I just had high expectations for myself."

"Like what? Running on the treadmill on the first day?" He joked.

"Yeah, something like that – maybe an uphill one too." She answered, rolling her eyes playfully at him.

He chuckled at her retort. _God he wished there'd be more good days like this._ "Sweetheart, it's your first day of therapy. Your first day of basically using that leg again after almost a month. I'm so proud of you for dealing with the pain and for completing your first day of PT."

"Thank you." She gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek.

"You know what? I think we should celebrate this milestone." He said as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Oh yeah?" She smiled at him.

"Yeah, and I just had a brilliant idea. How about a lunch date?"

Although Hotch didn't tell her where they were going, Emily was squealing in surprise and happiness as he pulled into another parking lot ten minutes later and grabbed Hotch's arm tight, that he had to hide that little wince.

"Really?! We're having Mcdonald's?!" She asked with a child-like wonder on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.

His face softened as he gave her a warm smile. _God he was so in love with her._ "Yes, really. I figured that you've been so amazing at tolerating your healthy diet since the incident and now, a new milestone should be celebrated, right? So, here's my little reward. You can order anything you want, BUT, this will be it for a while though. Alright?"

She huffed. "I don't even care. I'm so excited! Thank you, Aaron." She reached out her arm to hug him.

"You're welcome. And I do still promise to take you to a proper first date when you're all healed."

"C'mon! I'm starving!" She opened the door so quickly that Hotch had a little moment of panic, but was relieved when she didn't even attempt to get out. She patiently waited for him to assist her. He started thinking that if it was because of the pain she had earlier. But hey, he's just glad she's not hurting herself any further.

Hotch felt a warm feeling fluttering in his chest as he watch Emily devour her food with a happy and content face, even moaning at the first bite. Since Hotch gave her the freedom to order anything she wanted, she thought that she might as well push it since she'll never know when she can this meal again. Hence, she ordered a quarter-pounder with medium fries and large coke. She also insisted on a box of 8-pc nuggets that they now shared. Hotch opted for a cheeseburger with small fries and coke, plus two bottled water for them. He's not as young as he used to be so he's very careful about his diet, specifically the sodium, fat and calorie intakes. He prefers to live long enough to see his grandchildren, thank you very much.

Emily sighed as she finished her meal. If she's being honest, this is probably the best she's had in a while. Hotch's cooking is good, that's a definite fact. Sharp's cooking is even better. But there's always something about deviating from home-cooked meals once in a while. So this was definitely a treat for her. Though, she knew that he was serious about not having this again for a while – a long while. Hotch consulted a nutritionist & dietician while they were at the hospital. They gave him a list of vitamins and what kinds of food she'd need that could help during her recovery and gain her strength back, especially her immune system which is still a little bit fragile as of the moment.

"You look happy." He smiled.

"Are you kidding me? Anyone who's had Mcdonald's would be on cloud nine." They both chuckled. "Thank you" She said softly.

"You're welcome, love. But I have one more surprise for you."

Just like that, her face light up again. "What is it?"

"Well, we still have at least an hour before we get the kids from school. So, do you want to go to the park and maybe have some ice cream?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! C'mon! You know what, I don't even know why you still ask me that. The answer is always a yes." She babbled as they walk back to the car.

He chuckled at her and kissed her temple. "You're adorable."

"Wait." She said as he started the car. "How can I hold my ice cream while we walk to the park? My other hand is kinda occupied here."

"If you're willing to deviate from your usual Baskin Robbins habit for today, I figured we can just get ice cream from the ice cream truck at the park. That way, you won't have to walk far from the benches."

"Hmm." She considered it as they make the short drive to the park. _It is a very logical idea._ But she _loves_ her Baskin Robbins, which is just across the park. But that would mean the ice cream would start to melt by the time they get to the benches. She sighed in defeat then. "Okay. Maybe the ice cream truck wouldn't be so bad."

Emily sighed as they sat down on one of the benches, each with an ice cream in their hand. "God I missed being outside."

"Don't worry, you'll be back to work in no time."

"I feel like I've been out of work for a year."

 _Oh dear._ "It's only been more than a month since the incident, Em." He chuckled at her. _Women._

"I know, but still. God I don't even want to think about my remaining medical bills. Even with this paid medical leave, it will still take me at least two years to save up for a new car." She sighed. "I really liked my car."

Hotch looked at her then and he realized that she was really bummed about her car, and her current financial status. Yes, she's on a paid medical leave, and would be until she gets back to work. But the medical insurance can only cover so much, so she's still paying quite a huge amount left on her medical bill. And contrary to social beliefs, Emily Prentiss, despite being born with a silver spoon, does not depend on her inheritance and trust funds. Yes, it's a huge amount, probably can lavishly support her for the rest of her life. However, she has not touched that money or the properties ever since it was transferred to her name at age 21. She's solely depended on her income, and income as an agent at the BAU is great, especially if you're single. It's also not her pride. It's more like saving it until _she really needed it; until she can't work her butt off anymore._

"Hey do you remember the last time we were here?" She asked again, breaking Hotch out of his trance.

"Yeah, I do. It was great time, wasn't it?"

"Mhmm. Oh! I still have that photo. It's in my apartment though. Speaking of which, do you think you can help me find a new place? I'm not really comfortable going back in there."

"Well, why don't you just stay with me? With us?" He asked nonchalantly.

Emily stopped in her tracks then and looked at him, eyes wide in surprise.

"What?"

"Are you serious?" She whispered.

"Of course, I am, sweetheart."

"But, Aaron, there's so many things to consider. There's Maya and Jack. They know I'm just staying with you temporarily so they're okay with that. But permanently? Aaron, they may not like the idea of a stranger living with them. Plus there's the team – they don't even know we're together yet. Then there's me, you're not getting just me, it's me and my baggage. And I have a lot of them, you know that. And I'm-I'm- I'm so damaged-"

"Now you stop right there. Look at me." He put a finger under her chin to softly tilt her head up and look at him. "Emily, sweetheart, I do not want to hear you saying that again. You are not damage. A little beat up physically, yes, but not damage, and definitely not broken. I know I cannot dictate what you're feeling, especially about yourself, but I know it helps if you stop saying it. When you say it, you start to believe it. If anything, I only see a new Emily – a braver, stronger, bolder, fiercer Emily Prentiss."

"Why are you so nice to me?" she whispered.

"Because I love you; because you deserve nothing but the best, because you are amazing."

"No," she grabbed his face with her hands, "you're the amazing one," giving a soft kiss on his lips. She pulled back with a radiant smile. "And I love you too."

Just as Hotch was about to lean in again for another kiss, his phone rang. "Oh great." He murmured that made Emily chuckle.

"Hey Dave."

Moments later, he was hanging up the phone and turned to Emily again. "That was Dave. They just got back from a case and wanted to know if we want to join them for dinner tonight at his place."

"Oh. I'd love to. I mean, if you're up for it of course."

"Of course, sweetheart. If you really want to, then we'll go."

"Thanks. I really miss them. But I think I should take an afternoon nap then, so I'll have at least a bit of renewed energy for dinner."

Hotch was proud of her then. He knew that she was already accepting the fact that her body is still not at 100% and that in order to build it up again, she needs to rest, take her pills, go to therapy and just not over-do things. He can only do so much, and most of the effort should come from her. It took a while, and now they were here and he's proud of her.

/

It was bound to be a good night for a team dinner. Emily wanted it to be a good one, so she took a nap once they got home from picking up Maya and Jack from school. Hotch also took a short nap after attending to his kids, which only really needed an after school snack. Since it was also a school night, the kids stayed behind with their grandmother.

They pulled up in front of Rossi's house, or as he'd rather say _mansion,_ and suddenly Emily felt butterflies in her stomach. "Wow why am I suddenly so nervous?" she whispered to herself. She shook it out though and kept herself together.

Rossi welcomed them by the door with a huge smile. "You made it!"

"Hey, Dave." Hotch gave him a quick nod and a smile.

"Aaron, good to see you again. And you, my bella, so good to see you." He greeted Emily and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Dave, oh I've missed you."

"Come on, everyone's already here."

Dinner was a cheerful and fabulous affair. Everyone had missed Emily that she was almost always on the hot seat. Of course they missed Hotch, as well, but they know better than to put him on the hot seat. Besides, Emily was more fun to tease. To the relief of the couple though, none of them had asked about their relationship. Hotch and Emily knew that the team had already figured it out by the time of Emily's abduction, though they weren't officially in a relationship then. But when you're with a group of well-distinguished profilers most days of your life, they tend to know things about you that you haven't figured out yourself yet. There was a relief since they both knew that they don't need to explain or defend themselves or their relationship.

Emily was happy to be back with her team and family. She missed the light and joyful ambiance they bring when they're together. After the dinner, Dave invited them all out into the backyard where there was a bonfire waiting for them. Wine and beer were passed around, and Emily actually tried and pouted at Hotch, hoping to allow her to have even just a little bit.

"Please? Just a tiny bit, not even a quarter of the glass." She asked quietly, armed with the little pout that she knew Hotch couldn't resist and her sparkling-wide eyes.

"No." Hotch said quickly, handing back the apple juice in a wine glass to her. "And for the record, you're not playing fair."

Emily gave him a child-like huff. "And you're not being nice."

The team were all smiles and giggles as they watch the rather cute exchange between the couple. None of them has said it out loud but they are all very happy about the new step in the relationship of their two colleagues. To be honest, they're also all relieved to see them so happy and comfortable around the team, even showing little bits of affections towards one another, especially from Hotch. Affectionate Hotch was really a treat and a sight to see.

"Hotch, c'mon man. How can you resist that look?" Derek teased. The team laughed, except for Emily who was giving Hotch an annoyed look.

"Well, it is hard to resist, I'll give you that. But I have to since she's still taking her medicine and you know, alcohol and combined pills are really not a good combination."

Everyone agreed to that. Of course, they all knew he just wanted the best for her, they all do. By the middle of it, the men have grouped out under the pretense that Dave wanted to show them his new car. The women have stayed behind, still sitting by the bonfire.

"Okay, princess. You and boss-man, spill." Garcia started, the enthusiasm evident in his voice.

Emily shrugged. "He's… amazing." She said quietly, feeling rather shy about her admittance. "I don't even know how he handles all of it, how he handles me. I'm really not the best patient around."

JJ huffed, "and don't we know it." They giggled. "But Em, he loves you. Don't ever question that."

"I don't. I just… Sometimes there's just this lingering feeling that I don't deserve it; that I don't deserve him." She whispered. "It's stupid, I know, because he's very reassuring and he never fails to remind me that I'm worthy, but I just… I can't help it."

"Oh my gumdrop, you deserve all the glorious, happiest things in the world, you don't even know." Garcia said cheerfully which actually made her smile.

"I really missed you guys." Emily sighed.

"Well, honey, once that leg brace is off, Hotch will probably never see you again. We'll make up for all the lost time." JJ said.

Emily laughed, "I don't think he'll like that very much."

The girls were giggling and smiling while they share stories, catching up with one another. That was until Morgan and Hotch came back to them.

"Girls." Morgan called with a goofy grin on his face. Even Hotch had that beautiful smile that Emily truly loves- that smile that's just exclusive _for Emily._ "It's time."

Garcia's and JJ's face light up immediately, while Emily looked like a confused child. "Time for what?" She asked but nobody answered her. Instead, her two best friends got up while Aaron helped her up.

"Oh my god! This is… this is exciting!" Garcia exclaimed.

They started walking back to Dave's four-car garage, but they stopped once they got close to the door. "Now, princess. You have to close your eyes." Morgan said to Emily.

"What? Why?!"

"Just do it, Em." JJ encouraged.

She sighed. To be honest, she was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. She looked at Aaron, uncertain. But he gave her an encouraging smile.

Hotch pulled her close to his side and whispered, "It's alright, sweetheart. Dave's just got a little surprise. Close your eyes and I'll walk beside you."

She accepted that. "Okay," then closed her eyes.

It was quite the struggle as she was still in a crutch, but they've managed.

Emily felt them stopped and heard Hotch say, "I'm going to remove my hand from your eyes but you need to keep them close, alright?" She nodded.

"Okay, on the count of three." Dave prompted, and they all counted, "1,2,3! Surprise!"

Emily opened her eyes and seemed to be so confused. She looked around her team. Everyone sporting a wide smile. She then looked at Hotch, who nodded to Dave's direction.

She looked at Dave then. The older man who was like a father to her also had a smile on his face, one of his rare smiles. "Surprise, bella!"

Dave was pointing his hand to a new black sedan with a big red ribbon on top.

"Wait, wha- what?! What's this?"

"Well, when I saw your car that day; burned to ashes and nothing but a skeleton left, I was devastated for you. I knew how important and special that car was for you, since you told me the story of it. I know I can't physically bring it back, trust me, I've tried, but I was hoping this one might at least give you new hope, part of your fresh start."

"Oh my god. Dave." She whispered, the child-like wonder in her eyes were back. "But you didn't have to. I mean, this- this is a car! Not a puppy or a dress! A car! It's expensive! Dave…" She was out of words.

"Emily." He approached her and held her free hand. "It's a gift. It's my gift to one of the strongest and worthiest person I know. Think of it as a father's gift to her daughter."

She roamed her eyes on the car. "Dave." She whispered, still unable to believe what just happened. "It's really mine?" She didn't mean to ask loudly, asking no one in particular.

Everyone giggled. "It's really yours, bella."

"Oh my god." She whispered to herself. "Oh my god! Dave!" She finally exclaimed and latched herself onto him hugging him tight, that she even let go of her crutch. If not Dave's quick reflexes, they would've fallen down. "Thank you! Thank you! I don't even know how I'd repay you."

When they pulled back, they finally saw that she was actually crying. Not that they were all surprised, just that they thought that she wouldn't. But they were so happy to see her happy.

Dave had to somehow hold her since she let go of her crutch. "No. No, bella. All you have to do is focus on getting better. Get your strength back and stay happy. That's good enough for me – for all of us."

She nodded, wiping the last of her tears. "Thank you. And to all of you, thank you. With all that happened, you're still with me, through the good days and the bad. I don't even know where I'd end up if it weren't for all of you. I probably wouldn't even be here anymore. So thank you. You are all so amazing and – oh my god I don't wanna cry again!" They all laughed at that. _Typical Emily._ "And I love you guys!"

Once all the emotion have sobered down a little, it has finally sunk in to her that _it's her car,_ and she was filled happiness and excitement all of a sudden.

"Aaron! Look! A car! I got a car!" She said to Hotch, pointing to the car and grinning like a child who got her favorite toy for Christmas. They all laughed at her.

Hotch, on the other, was also smiling at her, quietly laughing at her antics. "I see that, sweetheart. It is your car." He said softly, as he pulled her to his side and kissed her temple. "You happy?"

"I cannot even describe the amount of happiness and the love that I feel right now."

He pulled her into a hug then and pressed a kiss on the top her head and murmured, "You deserve it. You deserve all of it, my love. You are worth it."


	23. Chapter 23

**TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of kidnapping, violence, sexual assault, implied suicide, implied self-harm.**

 **RATED M**

 **PLEASE READ WITH PROPER DISCRETION.**

 **/**

Aaron sighed as he entered the apartment. He's been back to work for about a month now. The amount of cases that they've had in the time he's been back was overwhelming for everyone, even for him. Emily is due to be back in two weeks, granted she gets the all clear from all of her doctors.

Not having Emily around is taking its toll on the team and they could see it. Sometimes, one person from the team would ask a question that seemed to be directed at her only to turn around and realize that she's not actually there. He also noticed that the ambiance has changed and he started to wonder if it was also like when he was on leave. But then again, they had a job to do and that's just what they did.

He saw his mother waiting for him in the kitchen as he was making his way to his room.

"Mom, why are you still up?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm worried about her, Aaron."

And he understood. Since he's been away since he got back to work, Emily seemed to be heading downhill. The first few days, it was okay. Sharp would take the kids, then she would take Emily to therapy. There were days when Garcia volunteered to take her or others from the team if they weren't on a case, and he knew she was delighted by that. But the recent days, she's been down. They do not know what happened, if there was any trigger whatsoever. All he knew was that Emily came out of therapy visibly upset one day and that's where it all started. _The bad days._

"She didn't even get out of bed today, Aaron. She didn't eat, didn't take her medicine. And time and again, I would hear her sobbing. I'd approach her but it seems she doesn't even see me. Aaron, I'm worried. She's also like a daughter to me now, you know that. It's heartbreaking to see and to know that I can't even help her."

 _God how did they get here? She was doing so well._

"I'm sorry you had to see all of that. To be honest, I have no idea what's going on, Mom. I'll get a hold of her therapist tomorrow and try to see what happened. Or maybe, hopefully, she'll talk to me. How are the kids taking it?"

"They're worried. They always want to help. But we try not to break the daily routine for them. Maya's obviously worried no matter how many times I reassure her."

"I'll talk to them." He said with an exasperating sigh.

"Hey, I know you're tired and frustrated about what's happening, but you don't have to be alone, alright? You and Emily have the team. I know you, Aaron. Don't be afraid to ask for help – for Emily."

He nodded. "Thanks mom."

/

Aaron woke up the sounds of whimper and sob from the woman beside him. He rubbed his blurry eyes and turned to her. She was trashing around the bed, her face obviously in distress.

"Emily," he shook her shoulder, "wake up." But she didn't.

"Sweetheart, c'mon, you're dreaming. Wake up." He tried again, this time shaking her shoulder a little harder. It took a few seconds before Emily bolted right up into a sitting position, gasping for air. Hotch was a little surprised, hence pulling his hand away from her.

Emily sobbed with her hands covering her face. "Emily," he whispered, bringing his hand back to her shoulder, but flinched away.

"No no no! Don't touch me!" She sobbed. "Please don't."

"Emily, sweetheart, it's me- Aaron." He said gently. He waited patiently until she slightly pulled her shaking hands away from her face and peeked at him.

"Aaron?" She whispered.

"Yes, love. I'm here." He said, starting to reach for her hand. "Can I hold you?"

He got a look that seemed like she was still considering it, like she was trying to decide if he was real or not. But moments later she gave a slight nod and held out her still shaking hand.

He gladly took it in his and gave comforting rubs on her palm. Emily, on the other hand, was just staring at their joined hands. Finally, she realized that he was real – the he was really here- and let out a sob.

Hotch pulled her into him and she willingly curled onto his lap. He held her tightly against him, trying to comfort her, whispering reassurances in her ear and rubbing her back soothingly.

"Tell me what's wrong."

She whimpered and shook her head. "I can't. I don't know."

"Emily, you know it will help a lot if-" but she cut him off.

"No! I do not know! I don't!" She raised her voice and tried to pull away from him, but Hotch just held her tighter.

"Okay. Shhh. Shhh. It's okay. It's alright, love."

Hotch continued to soothe her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Eventually, she calmed down, and she was so quiet that Hotch thought she fell back to sleep.

"My head hurts." She whispered. He sighed. Hotch knew that Emily usually gets mild headaches when she skips meals. Sometimes she would even complain that her right side was hurting, just below her ribs, when she skips meals. He thought it could be a sign of ulcer and advised her to see her doctor about it, but he's not sure if she really got into it nor was the topic ever brought up again. Now he's really concerned about her skipping meals because of the slight damage to her liver. Hell, he's even concerned about her taking any more medication other than what the doctor has prescribed. But the doctor also reassured him that her liver is still fully-functioning, she just needs to be extra careful and not abuse it.

"You've been skipping meals. Mom said you haven't eaten at all today. Would you like to eat now? Then you can take a pill for your headache."

She shook her head, "No."

"You'll get yourself sick if you keep doing this. Please."

 _I'd rather get deathly-ill and die._ She thought. _Why didn't I just freeze to death?_ Before he knew it, Hotch could feel a new wet patch forming on his shirt. She was crying again.

"I'm going to get you something to eat, alright?"

She shook her head again. "No. Don't let go."

"Okay, well why don't you come downstairs with me then?" She shook her head still. _Okay. Get it together, Aaron. New tactic._

With that, he pulled himself back from their tight embrace and put on his stoic _SSA Aaron Hotchner face._ "Emily," he called with a voice that he rarely use with her. It was obvious that Emily was startled by that as she looked up at him immediately with wide teary eyes. "The choice is not whether you're going to eat something. The choice is whether I'll get you something to eat or you'll come downstairs with me to eat. That's it, and I need an answer now."

She looked down, drifting her eyes away from his stern gaze. "Downstairs." She whispered lowly and so quietly that Hotch had fought the urge to ask her to repeat herself.

He sighed. _Finally._ At least he got her to eat. That was a victory no matter how small it sounded. "Okay. Thank you." He said to her and kissed her temple.

Hotch maintained contact as they make their way downstairs. He pulled her against his side and wrapped an arm around her waist as they walk. That was part of the compromise for tonight – to not let go. And he wasn't letting go for sure, compromise or not.

Emily was striving in her PT. She's not on leg brace anymore and can already walk and run again. Now they're just working on getting her leg strength and overall endurance back. She's also been spending some time in the gym and shooting range with Morgan, of course, with Hotch's strict reminder to _take it easy._ So far, it has been an amazing progress for her.

But now, Emily was very unstable due to dizziness when she got out of bed that she needed to take a moment to breathe. She needed Hotch to hold her steady. Now it feels like they're regressing. And he needs to get to the bottom of it.

They were seated across each other on the kitchen counter. Hotch was making sure Emily did eat something and not just fiddle on her food. She was only taking small bites, but he'll take it. Better than nothing.

He's very tempted to ask, to convince her to talk to him, but he decided against it. She seemed so calm now, hopefully calm enough to have a restful sleep. She looked so distraught a while ago that he was actually surprised himself. He'd never seen her breakdown like that, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do. But right now, sleep is in order. A good one, hopefully.

They went back to bed once Emily announced that she was done eating. She didn't even finish a quarter of the food but he didn't fight her on it. Not this time, at least. But he did make sure that she drank a lot of water.

They cuddled into the bed, with Emily burying her face on the crook of his neck, and her hand fisted his shirt tightly. _A tell that she was in a lot of stress._ Nevertheless, he had to admit that this is his favorite cuddling position. This way, they're closer to each other; he can hold her tight and run his hand across her back and into her hair – the ways to soothe Emily Prentiss. More importantly, he likes how he could feel her soft breathing on his neck – it's like a way of reassuring himself that she's here, she survived.

 _Oh sweetheart, what are we going to do?_

/

"Dad" Maya called. They were seated around the dining table for breakfast, minus Emily. "Is Emily okay?" she asked with a low voice, eyes on her food.

"Emmy was crying a lot, daddy. Why is she so sad?" Jack asked.

Hotch sighed. He knew he'd have to talk to his kids about it. Whether he likes or not, they're involved. They're seeing the situation, and it's affecting them.

"Maybe if we take her to the park she'll be happy. The park makes me happy." Little Jack suggested to his father in matter-of-factly tone, and Hotch had to smile at the innocence.

"Or the beach. She likes the beach." Maya added quietly.

"Emily's under a lot of stress right now. I know you're worried, I am too. We all are. But I promise you, we'll figure it out. We'll get all the help that she needs."

And the kids seem to accept that.

/

Emily winced and made a face as the sunlight seemed to pierce through her eyelids. _Goddammit why is it so bright? Someone turn off the lights!_ She turned her back away from the light and pulled the duvet over her head tightly.

"Oh no you don't!" The female voice said and pulled away the duvet, which made Emily groan in annoyance. _Someone is gonna get hurt._

"C'mon, Em. Time to get up!" JJ commanded.

"No! Leave me alone."

"Not gonna happen." JJ sighed and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. "I mean it, Em. Get up."

Emily rolled her eyes before turning to face her friend. "What do you want?"

"I want you to get up from that bed and have lunch with us."

"Us?"

"Dave's waiting downstairs. Now, up you go." JJ pulled the duvet entirely from Emily's body.

Emily groaned in protest and pulled duvet back on her. "I'm not hungry." She said, turning away from JJ again.

"Em! You're so pale, you've clearly lost weight. Hotch said you haven't been eating, and if the weight loss is this visible already, you should be alarmed. Heck, we're all alarmed. You've been missing all your therapy and you've cooped up yourself in this room. Em, what is going on? What's wrong?"

Emily sat up on the bed. "What's wrong?" She squinted her eyes at JJ. "You want to know what's wrong?"

JJ just looked at her best friend. Trying to decipher her every action, every reaction. She knew that Dave had also made it upstairs, but he was just standing by the door of the room. She knew that Dave was also profiling Emily.

"Everything is wrong! Everything about me is wrong! And I hate this! I _hate_ it! I want to go!"

"Go? Go where? Em, calm down." JJ tried to hold her shoulders but Emily pulled away and made her way to the bathroom.

"I want go!" Emily slammed the door.

That's when it dawned on her. Emily wanted to _go._ JJ couldn't help the tears that started to form in her eyes. Her heart broke for her friend. _What is happening, Em?_ What has happened that made her think this way? Everything was going well. At least, they thought it was going well.

JJ snapped out of her thoughts as she realized that Emily was _alone_ in the bathroom. And with thoughts of her wanting to go…

"Em!" JJ slammed her fist on the locked bathroom door. "Emily, open this door now!"

"C'mon, bella. Open the door." Rossi said calmly.

"Em, I mean it." JJ said slightly, trying to fight her voice from wavering.

They heard the lock click and the door suddenly swung open. "What do you want from me?" Emily said, it was obvious in her voice that she was tired.

"We want to help you." JJ said, the exasperation clear in her voice. "But we can't do that unless you help yourself too. Em, what happened? What has gotten you like this?" JJ reached a hand to her, holding her shoulder.

But Emily just stood there, looking from JJ to Dave and back again, until she let out a sob and flung herself onto her best friend. It took JJ by surprise, and for a second she thought she'd fall. But thank god for quick reflexes.

"Oh honey." JJ rubbed comforting circle on her back, soothing her. "Let it out. Let it all out."

Somehow, they've manage to get Emily back to bed. She instantly curled up onto herself, still crying quietly. JJ and Dave proceeded to talk by the doorframe. They both looked at their beloved friend. She seemed so lost, so confused, like she doesn't even see them.

"How about I just pick some food for us? I don't think she'll handle the public very well right now." Dave offered quietly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Remember to get her favorite okay? We need to get her to eat." JJ reminded him.

"Duly noted. Will you be okay for a while?"

"Yeah. We'll be fine."

Once Dave left, JJ approached Emily again. She has stopped crying, but still remained quiet.

JJ ran her fingers through Emily's hair. "Hey, Em. Dave's just getting food for us."

"I'm tired."

"Well, that's because you've been crying a lot and you haven't been eating-"

"No. I'm tired. I'm just tired – of everything."

"Why do you say that?"

Emily sat up on the bed, rather slowly. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head.

"Why does it have to happen to me?"

"Em-" _Oh no._ JJ was certainly not prepared for this. The moment Emily questions everything is the moment that she also questions her existence. And they all know that with someone like Emily, it might not turn out good.

"I have not been a good daughter, nor a good friend, when I was younger. But with all that I've done now, with all that I've accomplished, I thought I have paid my dues."

JJ had no answer to that. So Emily kept going.

"When I was in that room, freezing to death, all I wanted – all I ever prayed for – was for you guys to find me – so I can live. I wanted to see Jack's birthday, and Christmas, and Maya's father-daughter dance, and Aaron, and you guys. I wanted to see Jack and Maya grow up. I wanted to get married, bear my child and have a family. I wanted to _live._ But now, I want to… I just want to-"

"Em." JJ called in a stern voice, her jaw tightening. "Look at me." Emily complied, lifting her head up and turned to look at her. "Don't, okay? Don't ever say that." JJ's voice broke, her eyes starting to redden as tears threatened to fall.

"I do not know what's making you say all of this, what's making you have all these thoughts. You can talk to me, Emily. Help me understand."

Emily stared into space, still hugging her knees close to her chest. She was silent for a while, but JJ remained patient, and she was rewarded.

"Whenever we deal with victims who were… _abused,_ we always tell them that everything will be okay, that they will recover with the right help, that they are loved and there are people around them who wants to help, that they just have to remain positive and focus on the fact that they survived. But, when it happens to you, these words – they mean nothing. Nothing."

Emily was crying again. She knew she needed to talk about it and felt like JJ was the right confidant. The pain and fear that she's experiencing are too overwhelming to compartmentalize. She feels like she might just explode. She didn't even know that it was even possible to feel physical on your chest that stemmed from something that's entirely emotional. But Emily wiped her tears and took a deep breath- she has to talk about it.

JJ, on the other hand, was trying to process what Emily just said. _Abused. Did she mean…_ She could feel the blood drain from her face and her heart started to race as it dawned on her.

"Em," she called quietly. "Did he…?" She couldn't even say it.

But Emily ignored her. Her tears just kept flowing. JJ waited patiently again. She knew that pushing Emily would actually end up badly, so she waited.

Emily started again, this time her voice was quieter. "I remember going to the location. I remember waiting for _him._ I remember something covering my nose and mouth, then I blacked out. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair. I looked around and realized that the ropes were loose." She stopped and took a few deep breaths.

This time JJ reached out a hand to rub circles on Emily's back. "It's okay. Take your time."

"I managed to free myself and looked for something to help me open the door, but there was none. There was nothing but the chair, the ropes and me. Suddenly, I heard the locks click one by one. I stood by the door and waited for whoever it was, hoping to out-power him. But he was too strong. _Too strong._ I remember going down on the floor, trying to fight back. Then there was a very sharp pain on my leg, then on my head. His hands kept hitting me everywhere. Then I felt something poke through my arm, and I was out again."

At this pause, JJ noticed that Rossi was back and was again standing by the doorway. They exchanged short nods at each other, communicating the fact that this should not be disrupted, that he should remain quiet in case Emily feels uncomfortable with him there while she talks. Emily didn't seem to notice him though. She was still staring straight ahead, into nothingness.

"What happened next?"

"I woke up, but everything was hazy. I was very dizzy. All I remember is that I was lying down in a rather dark room, only a few sheds of light. I saw him there standing beside me. His hands-" Emily stopped abruptly and took a deep breath again. "His hands were all over my body. Not hitting, but touching. He reached down there and when I looked, my pants were pulled down." Her voice broke again at the last phrase.

JJ's heart was breaking for her friend, not that it wasn't already. They didn't even know this part of the story. Peters left this out of his confession. _That son of a bitch. I will kill him._ She was crying for her best friend- crying with her best friend.

Emily was sobbing again. "I wanted to run, but I couldn't move. Then everything was blacked out again." She shook her head. "I don't know even if he… I need to know!"

JJ thought for a while and suddenly remembered that the doctor said there were no signs of rape. _But that doesn't mean he didn't touch her._

"Emily, the doctor who attended on you said that there were no obvious signs of rape. Hotch insisted on doing the rape kit anyway, and it came back negative." She said softly.

"That doesn't mean anything." She whispered. "Every time I close my eyes, it takes me back there. I feel his hands all over me, his breath so close to me. I don't know how to make it stop. I don't want to be there again."

"You need to tell him."

But Emily vehemently shook her head. "No." She gave JJ a sharp look. "Promise me. Promise me you won't tell him."

"I'm not going to, you are. Em, this needs to be handled right now. Hotch wants to help you and he doesn't know how unless you talk to him."

"But-" Emily buried her face again, "he might think I'm dirty. I don't want him to leave me."

JJ was surprised. Emily knows that Hotch is not like that. They know he's not that kind of man. They know he's very committed to Emily. But JJ also knows that this is just her fear talking. Emily knows better than that. And she knows not to push.

/

JJ entered Hotch's office later that day, and she's never been more nervous to be in this office than right now. She knocked and waited for Hotch to say 'enter.' When he did, she proceeded to stand in front of his desk instead of sitting on one of the chairs.

"How did it go?"

JJ sighed, a tell that Hotch knows all too well. At this point, he was filled with worry again.

"Well, we've managed to get her to eat, so that was good." JJ said tentatively.

Hotch knew that there was something that the agent was adamant to tell. "What is it?"

But when she remained silent, he prompted. "JJ."

"Peters left out some parts – actually, _very important parts-_ in his confession."

"What do you-" He stopped as it dawned on him what JJ was trying to say but couldn't. "But… the rape kit was negative."

"That does not mean he _didn't_ touch her." JJ said, her jaw tightening and her eyes turning red as she tries to fight back her tears.

Hotch was suddenly filled with anger. Every fiber of his body wanted nothing but to make Peters suffer for hurting _his_ Emily.

"Why didn't she tell me?" He said quietly, more like asking himself than the person in front of him.

JJ saw the confusion and sadness in his eyes, though it was only for a quick moment until his mask was on again. But she was having none of that. So she reached out to his hand and said, "Hey, she's just scared, okay?"

"Why? She knows she can tell me anything. I love her."

JJ smiled at his declaration. "I know you do. She's scared that you might actually think _differently_ of her. And I know you won't ever do that. I know you're totally committed to her. But this is her fear taking over. Talk to her, okay? If someone knows how to get Emily through this, it's you. Besides, you're the Superman to her Wonder Woman."

And with that, Aaron Hotchner had his mind set that he will make Emily talk to him; that he will make her talk to their lawyer to amend their charges against Peters; that Peters will never see the light of day again.

Because no one, and he means _no one_ , messes with _his girl_ and gets away with it.

 **/**

 **A/N: Meh. This chapter was difficult to write. I don't think I did it justice. I'm sorry.**

 **Anyway, I'm here. I'm alive! Just been very busy with school and some sickness here and there. But all is good!**

 **Thank you guys for reading this and for leaving reviews/comments. You guys are awesome! xx**


	24. Chapter 24

"Hi" Hotch smiled as he greeted the other person on the phone.

"Hi" Emily said quietly. "Did you talk to the kids?"

He smiled even though he knew that she can't see him. "Yeah. I called them before I called you."

"Okay. Good. They miss you. I miss you." She said that last sentence so quietly that Hotch could barely hear.

Hotch sighed. He misses them too, he always does when he's away. Especially now that Emily is not with them.

"Bad one?" Emily asked as she heard him sigh.

"Yeah." A horrible one, if he must say.

They'd been in Los Angeles in what's probably one of the longest cases they've had. Men and women, aged 30-40, were being murdered in their own homes. The victimology was too broad to start with, add with the fact that all the killings had different MO's. That's why they were called in only after the 5th victim – local police didn't think it was connected. They were a little adamant about it too, but they took it anyway. The unsub though was more sophisticated than they thought. Though the victimology and MO is all over the place, he seemed to be very patient and well-organized, making sure that there are no tracks that could lead to him. Unfortunately for him, he'd underestimated the BAU. Yes, he's eluded local police and FBI _per se_. But the BAU was his downfall. Hotch and the rest of the team were just happy to close the case and finally go home.

Unfortunately, going to this case meant that Hotch had to postpone his talk with Emily. He's been itching to ask, to know what exactly happened, and to know how he can help her. But sometimes the work had to come first, they both knew that. So with a promise of the weekend off-rotation, Hotch had promised himself that he will take this time to have the talk with her.

"Is everyone okay? No one was hurt?" Her question snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Everyone's okay, sweetheart. Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay."

And that wasn't a lie. For Aaron and Emily, _okay_ meant that, while they're not at a hundred percent, they're also not dying or breaking down. Emily though was having better days after her breakdown. She's not at a hundred percent, but she's trying. She's trying to move on – to push back what happened into her boxes and move forward. Today, and in the recent couple of days, she was getting out of bed, helping the kids get ready for school, making them dinner and helping with their homework. She even played board games with them and sat with them for a movie. The kids were more than happy to see that Emily seemed to be doing much better.

To Sharp's delight, Emily was also starting to gain her appetite for food back. That was her main concern for the young woman. The maternal side in her is concerned about Emily's well-being that she was almost at the point of scolding her and giving her the talk like a mother would. Sharp was also delighted at the fact Emily is communicating. Not in the literal sense that she's actually talking to them, but more in the sense that she's been able to somehow vocalize her feelings again. Though Sharp could sense a little hesitation, it was a great start.

It was not all laughter and sunshine for Emily though. She's still gets her _dark_ times during the day. And it mostly happens when she's alone, or rather, when she feels lonely. That's one of the things that she's been fighting on – the loneliness. Yes, she has never felt so alone, especially with Hotch, Maya, Jack and Sharp with her. But there are times that the loneliness creeps on her. She can't explain it. She can't explain what triggers it, maybe the incident. And when the loneliness dawns on her, that's when her flashback usually happens, when it starts eating her away.

"Hey, we're about to land. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you." And that never fails to make her smile.

"I love you too."

Hotch ended the call without even realizing that he had a goofy smile on his. It wasn't until he heard someone clear his throat that he looked up and noticed the Dave and JJ, who were sitting across him, were staring at him also with smiles on their faces.

"She had a good day?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, I think. She said she's okay."

"Oh you've got it bad, my friend." JJ teased him and all he could do was smile again. _Yeah, he really did._

/

He sighed as he closed the door of his apartment, typing the security code to the alarm back in. _Force of habit._ They've landed about two hours ago. But the rest of DC and Virginia decided to go out this Friday night. So with the traffic, it took him longer to get home.

The kids were already asleep, and so was his mother in the guest room. Though he's not sure about Emily, he was hoping that she's already asleep too. If it was his choice, he'd set a bed time for her, but he was sure she would not appreciate that.

After making sure that the door and windows were locked, he made his way to the guest room down the hall. He peeked in a little and smiled at the sight of his mother peacefully asleep. He then made his way upstairs and to Maya's room. He kissed her good night and made his way to Jack's room, also giving him a kiss good night.

Finally, he made his way to their room. He already noticed beforehand that the light was still on so he was expecting to see Emily awake. But when he opened the door and scanned the room, Emily was nowhere to be found. His breath hitched but immediately gave a sigh of relief as he realized that the balcony door was open.

He place his gun on the safe, took off his holster and his suit jacket. He also took out his wallet, badge and phone and placed it on the bedside table. He contemplated if he should change his clothes before approaching her but decided against it.

"What are you doing out here? It's cold." He said as make his way out to join her.

Emily jumped a little and turned her head to look at him. She immediately regretted that move as he stopped in his tracks to see that she was crying. Emily immediately saw the concern on his face.

"Sorry." She frantically wiped her tears away.

Hotch came over to her and enveloped her in his strong arms. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" He thought she was okay.

Emily felt her resolve start to crumble, but still, she was trying to hold it in. She didn't want to breakdown again. So pulled herself away from his tight embrace.

"Emily." He called as she turned away to look at the DC skyline. It was indeed a beautiful view. Hotch stood next to her, opting to initiate anymore contact first.

"I- I need to talk… I, uhm, I need to tell you." She stuttered. Hotch already knew what she was going to say, though he didn't prod her, just let her talk to him. He gave her an encouraging look instead.

Emily took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. She needed to do this, and she needed to do it without breaking down in the middle of the story. No. That would just prolong her agony. She can cry after, she thought.

"When Peters, uhm…" She took a deep breath again. And this time, Hotch couldn't take it anymore.

"It's alright. Take your time, sweetheart."

Emily nodded. "I went to the location. I knew I shouldn't have but… when he threatened Maya and Jack, I just snapped. I wasn't thinking clearly. So I got there and waited. I didn't even notice, didn't even feel anyone coming up behind me. Suddenly there was just something covering my nose and my mouth then I blacked out." She continued to tell Hotch about what she can recall and getting in the freezer.

"I woke up and I was in this white room with four walls and huge vents on the top. I noticed that the ropes on my hands were loose, so I was able to untie it, as were the ropes tying my feet. Just then, I heard the door starting to unlock. I tried to find something that I could against him, but there was nothing but the ropes. Believe it or not, the chair was screwed to the floor. So anyway, I took the rope and stood by the door. I was able to get the upper hand at first, but he was too strong." She stopped, taking ragged breaths.

Hotch held her hand then, glad that she didn't pull away. "Deep breaths. There you go."

"Do you want to stop?" He asked, thinking that this is too much for tonight for her.

"No. No. I might not be able to get the courage again."

"Alright. I'm here. I'm listening."

It was a few moments before Emily started again. "I felt pain on my leg and on my head. I got a little dizzy, but I was still trying to fight. But then, I felt something poke my arm and I… blacked out again." She sighed. She was getting to the hard part.

"When I woke up again, I was very dizzy, like everything around me was spinning. But I knew I was in a different room. I was on a bed, and someone was standing over me. I knew it was him. I just knew it."

Her voice broke and her tears started to fall. "I felt his hands all over me. I tried to move, but I couldn't. And I – I felt his hands down there. When I looked down, I noticed that my pants were half-way down. I- I don't – I blacked out again."

Hotch already knew that something happened. But nothing could ever prepare for this – hearing it straight from Emily. Hearing the sadness, agony, and pain in her voice.

"I don't know if… if he…" She broke down then, tears running freely down her face. "Aaron, I need to know." She wheezed out in between her ragged breaths.

He couldn't take it anymore. He pulled her tightly against him, as if trying to put all her broken pieces back together. He didn't say anything. There was nothing to be said.

They stayed that way for a long time. Emily didn't want to let go. Afraid that if she did, she'll fall apart. Not that she isn't already. But if she lets go, she's not sure if Aaron might like what she will do.

After a while, Emily had somewhat calmed down. She was still crying, but not extremely sobbing as she was earlier. Realizing that they eventually need to at least sit down, he carried Emily back to their bed. He softly laid her down on the bed and she immediately curled her body. He sighed and went to the bathroom to get a cold washcloth for her.

He went back to the bed and sat beside her, and started to gently wipe her face with the cold cloth. He did it a few more times before placing it on the bedside table.

"Come here." He said, gently pulling her on his lap. Once there, he resumed his tight hug on her. Again, neither of them had said anything for a long while that he actually thought she already fell asleep.

Not until she broke the silence. "Aaron?" she called, her voice still thick from crying.

"Hmm?" But when she didn't respond, he pulled back a little to look at her. "What is it, Em?"

She whimpered, trying to prevent the sob that was threatening to come out. "You- You're not gonna leave me, are you?"

He was taken aback. His brow furrowed. Did she really think that he was going to leave her? Just because of this? Hotch mentally berated himself. God he must have been horrible at reassuring her if she feels that way.

"Sweetheart, look at me." He said gently. What he saw in her beautiful brown eyes were nothing but sadness and fear. And his heart instantly shattered.

He placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. He didn't even know where to start. "I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" She nodded.

"Words cannot explain the amount love I have for you. And that will never change. Ever. I love you, and I will love you through the good and the bad. Sweetheart, I apologize if I never tell you enough, or if I ever make you feel unwanted at some point. But Emily, I love you, and I don't see myself loving anyone but you. I know I will never understand what you're going through, and it breaks my heart to even see you cry. But I need you to understand that I will never leave you, whatever happens, whatever storm comes our way."

She was crying again. How did she deserve this amazing man?

"But I'm-"

"No." Hotch know what she was about to say so he cut her then. "No, sweetheart. You're not. Don't you ever think that. You're you – amazing, strong, kind-hearted, intelligent, the list could go on and on. But you're not _that_."

"I'm not the same Emily." Her voice was too quiet then.

"No, you're not." He surprised her with that response. "Something like this can change people, we know that from our job. But I also know that, if anything, it changes you for the better, in the future. You will be stronger and braver. A better version of you. But I also want you know that whatever outcome this will bring us, I will stay with you. The good and the bad, okay?"

"I just don't want you to regret anything."

He sighed. This very woman in his arms has suffered so much that she actually believe she doesn't deserve to be loved. She's been through hell and she still sees the good in people. If he has a say in it, Emily Prentiss deserved the world, and he would give it to her if he could.

"The only thing I will ever regret, if any, is if I don't wake up next to you for the rest of my days." He whispered. "You're my amazing girl."

"I really love you, you know?" She said to him. She somehow had stopped crying, but her face remained blotchy and tear-stained.

"I know." He smiled. "And I really love you too."

They stayed in that tight embrace for quite a while. Neither of them saying anything as the silence was comfortable enough for them.

Then, Hotch had to start the conversation he was kind of dreading to have. "Em, I hate to ask you this, but you know you have to tell the story, right?"

She inhaled a sharp breath. She didn't even think of that until now. Peters made a judicial confession and both parties agreed to forego the trial and they're merely waiting for the sentencing. This was all for the victim's sake – so she didn't have to testify in court. But now, with this new fact coming into light, they'd need to amend some things in order to insure that Peters would be properly prosecuted for all that he's done.

After hearing the dreaded news from JJ, Hotch immediately consulted their lawyers. They told him that if they amend the complaint and add this new information, it will automatically change, if not add to, the charges against Peters. This would most likely end up in a trial and Emily would have to testify. Hotch was a former prosecutor, of course he knew all of this. But when they asked if he wanted for Emily to go through a grueling trial, he didn't know what his answer should be.

Instead though, he asked for other options. But all they told him was to meet with them, bringing Emily along.

"If we go through with it, there could be a trial and you'd have to testify. Unless, of course, he admits to that to." He continued. He knows that she knew about the rape kit. It came back negative, but it was a freaking _rape kit._ Just because it came back negative, does not mean he didn't assault her in some other way. If they go through with it, it would be her words against his, and he's not sure if they have good chance because as Emily said earlier, she was drugged.

"I have to tell my story to strangers." She said quietly.

"Yes. The lawyers would like to meet with us, when you're ready."

"Okay. I'll meet with them. But can I think about it? About telling my story?" She asked the question with such a small and vulnerable-sounding voice. Almost like a child nervously asking for a treat, ready to get screamed at by mom or dad.

"Of course, sweetheart. It's your story to tell. It's your decision, okay?" And she just nodded.

She felt a little lighter now that she was finally able to tell Hotch. Amazingly, this amazing man has soothed all her fears – about being left alone, about not being loved.

He noticed Emily finally falling asleep, feeling the tension leave her body and her breathing becoming even. God she must be so exhausted, he thought. But now he's here, and he'll make sure that she'll have a full night's rest. Only being able to hope that the nightmares do not plague her tonight.

He gently placed her down on the bed, but she barely even stirred. He pulled the duvet over her body. But when he started to pull away, he heard Emily whimper.

He couldn't help but smile and kiss her forehead. "I just have to change, my love. You rest now." He whispered. With that, he quickly changed his clothes and proceed to do his rather short night time routine in the bathroom.

After making sure that the balcony door was locked and turning the lights off, he finally joined Emily in bed. He was only feeling now the exhaustion from the past week and the long journey home, plus the emotional night he had with Emily. Boy was he glad that it was the weekend. The kids are taking a trip for the weekend with their grandmother to see their relatives in West Virginia for their cousins' birthday, and though Hotch would really want to go with them, he decided that he and Emily needed the time alone. Plus, exposing her to that big of a crowd at this point is not really ideal.

The kids will be back Sunday afternoon, and they could all spend time then. All four of them hopefully. He pulled Emily closer to him, smiling when she curled up even further against him. He finally gave her a kiss good night.

"Good night, sweetheart. I love you." He softly whispered, and he smiled at the soft hum she let out.

/

Hotch opened his bleary eyes, squinting as the sunlight assaulted his eyesight. He blinked once, twice, and finally, he noticed the woman he loves staring at him. God she's even more beautiful in the morning, when the sunlight hits her face, making her glow like an angel. The sight before him was ethereal.

He kissed her then. Hard. Not being able to stop himself. She gladly kissed him back. Who would want to deny such an amazing kisser anyway? They pulled away, both catching their breaths.

"Wow." She whispered.

He chuckled. "Good morning to you too."

She gave him a smile that makes his heart flutter even more. There it is, the smile that he missed. The real _Emily_ smile that reaches her eyes.

"Breakfast?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I guess I should have some."

"Okay. I'll make it light. From the absence of loud noises at this time of the day, I'm guessing mom and the kids already left."

"Aww. I wanted to say good bye." She pouted, which made him smile.

"It's alright. They'll be back tomorrow. I'm thinking we could go to park then."

"Oh yeah. We haven't been there together for a while. We should go."

"Okay. I'll go start breakfast now." He said, giving her one last kiss before getting up from the bed.

When Emily finally got into the kitchen, she was surprised by the amount of food on the counter. There were chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and Hotch was still finishing something that looked like omelet.

"Hey!"

"You said light breakfast." She chuckled.

"Eh." He shrugged. "Guess I got too excited. Haven't had breakfast with you in a while."

She smiled at that. "You're too sweet." Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before starting on her coffee.

Hotch was just transferring the omelet to the plate as Emily sat on the counter when they heard the doorbell.

They immediately looked at each other. Neither of were expecting anyone.

"Probably just JJ visiting." She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but she knew he didn't buy it.

"I'll get it." He offered.

"No. It's fine. You finish those. I'll get it." She said, already walking to the door.

Emily immediately regretted opening the door. What she saw on the other side made her eyes wide in surprise, feet stuck on the floor, body seemingly frozen.

"Mother?"

 **A/N: Thanks to the guest reviewer who brought up my attention on the glitch that happened. I don't really know how that happened. Lol. I just posted the chapter like always did then logged out. I didn't even check it. My bad! Sorry about that one guys. Anyway, here's a re-post of Chapter 24, and hopefully a glitch-free one. xx**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Okay. This site hates me. Idk what happened and why it keeps happening. I uploaded the first version of this chapter glitch-free and all, so I don't know why it's all messed up when you guys opened it. Anyways, I apologize. Here's a re-upload of CH25. And again, hopefully a glitch-free one. Let me know! xx**

 _"_ _Mother?"_

Emily could not believe her eyes. Standing on the other side of the door was none other than Elizabeth Prentiss, the person she has a love-mostly-hate-relationship with. Standing behind the woman were two people she recognized very well, beside them was an unrecognizable man who was wearing a suit on a Saturday morning.

"Well, are you just gonna let us stand here, Emily? And here I am thinking you've learn at least some hosting etiquette from all these years."

But before Emily could answer, she heard Hotch approaching.

"Who is it, Em?" He asked. He wondered why there was no sound coming from the living room considering that they probably had guests. So he went to check.

Much like Emily, he had the same reaction. He abruptly stopped in his tracks as he saw Elizabeth Prentiss standing on the other side of the door, and she brought company. _Oh goody._

"Ambassador Prentiss." He said as he stood beside Emily.

"Agent Hotchner."

There was a brief awkward pause before Hotch found his voice again.

"I see you've brought company."

"Ah yes. These are Jessica and James Peters and one of their lawyers, Atty. Roger Daniels."

"With all due respect, why are you here?" He asked, his tone sharp and he knows that the Ambassador does not appreciate it. But he does not work for her anymore, and right now, they're disrupting their day.

"We would like to talk about some things with Emily and you."

Hotch and Emily looked at each other, and once again, Hotch saw so much fear in her eyes. Hotch briefly nodded before opening the door fully to let them in.

"It's going to be okay, love." He whispered to her, giving her a light rub on her back, as their _visitors_ find their seats in the living room.

But that did not work on Emily. She knew where this was going. It was like college all over again. If the earth could just possibly swallow her right now, that would be great.

Sensing how uncomfortable Emily is right now, Hotch knew where this conversation could go. He decided to cut to the chase. "Again, why are you here?" He asked, giving them his ever famous Hotchner glare.

"We're here to offer you a settlement." James Peters said with all confidence.

Right then, Hotch knew that it was a mistake letting them in. _A settlement?_ _Are they freaking serious? This is not some petty theft charge. The man kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and attempted to kill an FBI agent. The man killed 4 innocent women just so "he can get the FBI's attention." And they're offering to freaking settle? What the fuck is there to settle?_

"No." Hotch immediately said, not even trying to hide his anger.

"Agent Hotchner, as much as I appreciate the _support_ you've been giving my daughter, I think she's the one who should be answering this." Elizabeth said dismissively.

Then she turned her attention to her daughter. "Emily, before you give an answer, at least give Atty. Daniels and Jessica and James a chance to explain. You remember Aunt Jessica and Uncle James, don't you, Emily? They're nice people. Emily, do not be disrespectful. That's not how I've taught you. Are you just going to let, Agent Hotchner control everything, Emily? A Prentiss never lets herself be controlled."

But Emily did not answer. She didn't even acknowledge her mother. She was staring into space. And for Hotch, this could very well mean that she's back in that dark place again. The dark place that he hoped he got her out from last night. _Everything was going well. Fucking politics._

"There will be no settlement. Now, please leave my house before I call the police and file for harassment against all of you." Hotch said to them.

"Agent Hotchner, Agent Prentiss." Jessica called, which surprised the older agent. "My son, he's just… he's disturbed. He needs help. He does not belong in prison."

 _Oh great. The crying mother. For pete's sake, your son is an old man._ "Let me tell you something about your son, _Jessica._ Your son murdered four innocent women. One is an engineer, two of them are lawyers, and one is a teacher. He abducted them, held them for 24 hours. Then he stabbed them-"

"I think that's enough, Agent Hotchner." James called out, as his wife was already in tears. Clearly, all of the information was not disclosed to her.

"All of them had more than 30 stab wounds each, but none of which would have killed them. No. He just wanted to play with them. Until he finally kills them with a deep stab wound on the chest. Deep enough to cut a major artery. Now, do you want me to continue and explain what he did to Agent Prentiss? Because clearly, you missed the memo."

"Agent Hotchner! Enough with the disrespect." Elizabeth scolded.

"And you, what kind of parent are you, Elizabeth? You're just as bad as these two, if not worst."

"I beg your pardon?!"

"He attempted to rape your daughter then, and all you did was agree to a settlement. Then the case was expunge. Thought we weren't going to find out about that?"

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"It has become our business the moment he threatened Emily. We're done here. You can all leave now. I'm sure you know where the door is."

"Agent Hotchner, if you would just please-"

"Leave or I will personally arrest all of you." He said, giving them his famous glare.

That was enough for them to show themselves to the door. Once they were out, Hotch couldn't help but give out a deep sigh. He couldn't believe these people. He then turned his attention back to Emily. She was still staring into space, blank expression on her face.

"Emily?" He called quietly.

When he reached to touch her shoulder, Emily suddenly stood up and said, "I need to be alone." The lack of emotion bothered Hotch immensely. It was like a robot talking.

As Emily made her way upstairs, Hotch called one of their lawyers to tell him about what happened. It was a rather lengthy conversation.

After the call, he debated if he should come up to check on Emily, but based on experience, if Emily said she needed to be alone, she should be left alone. She would come to him when she's ready.

But as if on cue, he heard Emily making her way down the stairs, rather slowly.

"Hey."

Emily waited until she was down the stairs before acknowledging him. It was tough. She spent probably a good hour on the bed, balling her eyes out. But as soon as she got up to go to the bathroom, she felt funny, dizzy. Fearing that this could be something bad, she decided to go down and see Hotch. Speaking of which, she knew that he did not miss her tear-stained face.

"Aaron" she said, her voice breaking. "I feel… funny." Her voice fading at the last word.

His brows burrowed in confusion and worry. "Funny how?"

"I don't- … don't know-" And with that, Emily fell unconscious.

"Emily!"

/

"Agent Hotchner." Hotch stopped his pacing in the waiting room as he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. It was Emily's doctor.

"What happened? How is she?"

"Her blood pressure is dangerously high. Normally, in cases like these, the patient's blood pressure would go down to normal once we give a certain dose of medicine. In her case, despite that, it's still on the high range. This, plus considering her medical history, I'd like to keep her here at least overnight."

"What could have cause this?"

"Well, there are a lot of things that could trigger it, but being under major stress is one of the top on the list. Just so we're on the safe the side, we'll do a number of tests once she wakes up. I would like to do an MRI, ECG, and Stress test."

Hotch sighed. It was indeed a rather stressful morning, especially for her. And now, he can only hope that it will be a lighter rest of the day, despite all the tests.

"She's being transferred into a room and a nurse will get you here shortly. If you have any more concerns or questions, or when she wakes up, just tell the nurses and they know where to find me."

"Alright. Thank you."

He sighed for the nth time. _God will it ever end?_ His poor girl is once again cooped up in a hospital for the nth time this year.

/

The sight that greeted him when he entered the room was heartbreaking. There was Emily, in a hospital bed again, looking paler than she's ever been, smaller than she seemed to be.

When he saw her starting to wake up, he immediately sat on the edge of her bed.

"Aaron."

"Hey."

"What happened?"

He huffed. "You tell me. You're the one who passed out. Gave me quite the scare." He said as he help her to sit up.

"Sorry."

"No worries. But the doctor said your blood pressure was high, dangerously so."

"But I'm fine now. Can we go?"

"Not yet. They want to keep you here overnight, medical history and all."

"Pointless."

"Better safe than sorry."

She sighed and tilted her head back to lean on the pillows. "Fucking hell." She muttered, which earned an amused grin from Hotch.

He noticed her close her eyes and he let her have a moment. Then he heard her chuckle, but he also noticed the tears falling from her eyes.

She took a deep breath. "Oh good lord, will it ever end?" She chuckled again, "How pathetic have I become? 10 million hospital visits in a year, getting kidnapped, my own mother going against me."

"Em-"

She looked at him, and he could see the pain in her eyes. "How do I end this? How do I end this… feeling? This feeling that's been weighing on my chest, this pain that I don't even know how to explain. I've tried but nothing seems to work."

She was sobbing now and it was breaking his heart. Not only because it is generally heartbreaking to see her cry, but also because he does not have any answers for her. He doesn't know how to make it better.

"I'm tired, Aaron. I'm just tired." Hotch pulled her against him into a tight hug. "I want this to go away. I want to be better. Aaron-" She was out of words as the sobs took over her.

He held her as she cried for the darkness in her life, for the darkness that's hovering her heart, weighing her down, for the darkness that never seems to go away.

And he cried with her – for her.

/

Later that day, the team arrived at the hospital, but Emily was asleep. The crying tired her out. Hell, it tired him out. Plus, the MRI and the ECG which they did only two hours apart. The Stress test would come later. They decided to talk outside her door as to not disturb her.

"What did the doctor say?" JJ asked quietly.

"It was stress. Her blood pressure was high. She's okay now, she woke up a while ago. But they're keeping her overnight just to be sure. They did an MRI and ECG a while ago and we're waiting for results. They're doing a stress test later today."

"Wow." JJ said, feeling heartbroken for her best friend.

"Oh, my poor gumdrop. She's been in and out of the hospital." Garcia exclaimed, placing her hand over her chest, as if trying to hold her heart.

"Hotch, what happened this morning?" Derek asked.

He sighed, not wanting to relive what happened earlier. But he knows he had to. They're as involved in this as much as he was. This is Emily's family now, and it'd be wrong to leave them in the dark. So he started telling them what happened, and by the end of it, he could feel their anger, and he couldn't blame them. He himself wanted to decapitate every visitor he had that morning.

"Emily's lawyers have filed for restraining orders against them earlier, we're just waiting for it now." He finished.

"I swear to god I will give them each gruesome deaths if they come near her again." Derek said and he could that the rest of the team shared the same sentiments.

And as if on cue, one of the devils, also probably one of the BAU's most hated persons, walked in.

"What are you doing here?" Derek was the first one to spot her.

The Ambassador stopped in front of the rather intimidating team. But she was Ambassador Prentiss, nothing intimidates her. "Well, I'm here to see my daughter." She said nonchalantly.

"No." Hotch said simply, combined with his famous glare.

"Agent Hotchner," she started, straightening up her posture even further, "in case you're forgetting, I am her mother, I am her family-"

"You stopped being her family the moment you turned against her. You stopped being her mother _years ago_ when you decided your career was more important than your own daughter. You are the reason why she's here, did you know that? You're the reason she's suffering even more. Now, you tell me, would a mother do that? Add to her child's suffering rather than supporting her?"

The team was stunned at Hotch's outburst. They were not used to seeing him this way. To them, he was always very composed, stoic, and rather calm.

"Emily had never told us what happened back at Yale. We discovered it once we knew that Peters was our unsub. One day I asked her – I asked her why she didn't tell us. I asked her if she felt ashamed about it because she didn't need to feel that way. But you know what she told me? She said she didn't tell anyone, not even us who knew her years later, because you said it would end your career, she said she didn't want people to think badly of you. That's how much she loves you and you don't even deserve it. You do not deserve her."

Again, silence filled between the group, and the tension was off the roof. The team was sure that Hotch was more than ready to skin the woman alive, and it was taking all his will power not to do it.

Just then, Rossi cleared his throat to end the tension-filled silence. "With what's left of our respect for you, Ambassador Prentiss, if you know what's best for you, you will leave this place right now and never come close to Emily again."

"Emily's lawyers have filed a restraining order against you and the Peters'. Now, I can only give you two options, Ambassador. First, I can make a statement to the press, telling the entire nation what you've done. _A mother plays politics to settle with her daughter's kidnapper_. It will be the headline of the year. I can make that happen in less than an hour with all the connections I have with the press, probably more than you'll ever have. This will ruin you and the Prentiss name. _I can make sure of that._ Now, your second option is to walk out of this place quietly and never disturb Emily ever again. So, what's it going to be, _Ambassador Prentiss?_ " JJ said, the anger evident in her voice.

This also stunned the rest of them, especially Hotch. This was not the JJ he knew. This was a fiercer, bolder, JJ. Just then he realized how much of a family they are. Ready to head into a war that was waged against one of them, ready to help build the shattered ruins back up. This is their family – their amazing family.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the clicking of heels. Elizabeth Prentiss was walking away without a word. They'd consider this a victory – as small as it is.

"Wow. JJ. That was…" Reid said quietly but can't seem to finish the thought. A very rare occurrence.

"That was amazing. Badass. Woman, I will never mess with you. Ever." Morgan said with a grin, which somehow lightened the mood.

But JJ was still fuming, probably more than Hotch. "I'm going to see Emily now. You guys can join me. I'm sure she'd like to see us all there, help lift her spirits up." They all agreed.

"But can someone get coffee? I really need coffee." She all but begged anyone of them.

Hotch gave a playful smirk. Yup. Still the JJ they know. "I'll go." He said.

"I'll help. C'mon. I think everyone needs a snack too." Dave volunteered.

Emily was already up and talking when Hotch and Dave came back with coffee and sandwiches for everyone. Except for Emily. She got a sandwich, but no coffee. And she made sure Hotch knew that she was not happy about it. But he wouldn't budge. They were advised that Emily was only to drink water for the rest of the day. Plus, she really needed to minimize her caffeine intake in general. Which Hotch was sure would be a subject of future argument.

"Fine. But I'm letting you know that I accept this sandwich under protest due to absence of coffee." She pouted – literally pouted – at him.

He suppressed a chuckle, as did the rest of the team. "Duly noted."

The team said their goodbyes a couple of hours later. A nurse came in to remind Emily of her stress test in 10 minutes. They knew she'd be tired anyway after the test so they gave her hugs goodbye and promise to visit her again at home.

/

Emily _hated_ the stress test. _Of course the patient would be stressed. They'd make them run on a treadmill for god knows how long!_ To say that she was tired was an understatement.

"Why did they think that a fucking stress test was good for patients?" She grumbled as she settled back on her bad.

Hotch couldn't help but laugh at her.

"What? I felt like I went on a 3-day non-stop hike. Of course my heart rate would be erratic and my blood pressure would spike. All they did was tire me out on purpose!"

"Yeah, it did look tiring. But hey, I have one more surprise if you're still up for it. But if you're too tired-"

"No. No. What is it? Tell me!" She said with a grin, like all her energy came back up.

"It'll be here in a…" He glanced at his watch. "few seconds."

Indeed, a few seconds a tiny knock can be heard followed by the familiar little voice. "Daddy?"

"You guys can come in."

Emily's face immediately lighten up at the sight of Maya, Jack and Sharp. "Hey guys! I thought you won't be coming back until tomorrow?"

"Well, Aaron called me and said that you were in the hospital, and we wanted to come back to make sure you're okay. Trust me, the kids all but begged me to take them back here." Sharp said.

Emily suddenly felt a little guilty. They were kids, they weren't supposed to worry about things like these. They're supposed to enjoy a fun birthday party and sleepover.

"Are you okay, Emmy? Were you hurt?" Little Jack's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He was standing beside her bed and was barely taller than it. So she reached down to lift him up on the bed but Hotch beat her to it. She was thankful though. The IV port in her hand was starting to hurt.

Once on her bed, she pulled him on her lap and hugged him close. "Well, I'm not hurt. Earlier this morning I wasn't feeling very well and I got very dizzy. So we decided to see the doctor to make sure that I'm okay. And I promise I'm all better now, especially that you guys are here."

"But you know what else would make me feel even better?" She asked the little boy playfully.

"What?"

"If I get a power hug from Super Jack. I wonder if a superhero like him would grant my wish."

Jack giggled. "Yes! Yes! A power hug!" He circled his tiny arms on her neck and hugged her as tight as he could.

"Wow! Now I'm good as new! Thanks Super Jack, you definitely give the best hugs."

Sharp was all smiles as she watched the exchange between Jack and Emily. It definitely was the best idea to return once they got the news. They were worried for her. She really liked Emily, already considers her as a daughter. She likes how motherly she is to Maya and Jack, definitely something that was a huge factor for her when her son would start dating again. Thankfully he has great taste and found an amazing woman. And no, she would definitely not mind another grandchild.

Hotch was definitely melting inside. Emily is amazing to Jack and Maya. He has no doubt that she will be an amazing mother. _She already is._ And he definitely likes the image of a pregnant Emily, glowing and ever so beautiful carrying their child. Yeah, he'd definitely like that.

Emily however noticed that Maya was a little aloof since they came in. She just stood there, expressionless, eerily like her father when on the job.

She looked at Aaron, trying to convey that she needed a moment with Maya, which he got immediately. "Hey, Jack. Want to get a snack?"

"Sure." He simply said and hopped off the bed. Sharp also got the sign and joined them out of the room.

"So, are you just gonna stand there like a royal guard or what?" She asked playfully, just to make her feel at ease.

Maya though didn't find it amusing. However, she did gave up and sat on the edge of Emily's bed facing her. She crossed her arms across her stomach when Emily tried to reach for her.

Emily sighed. "Hey. I'm okay." She said quietly but firmly.

"Are you really?" She asked, too much emotions in her voice that Emily could not decipher.

"Maya-"

"You know, you think you can fool Jack by saying that, but not me. The last time you were in a hospital, you weren't okay for a long time, and I don't think you've ever been _okay_ since then." Her tears started to fall but she angrily wiped them.

"I'm sorry."

"You seemed _okay_ before, but then you were not. I then realized that you never were, and probably won't be for a long time. And that's alright. But you _have_ to keep fighting, okay? I was so scared, and I still am. I know it sounds selfish and assuming but I don't want to lose you. You make me happy, you make us happy. Dad was not happy for a long a time. He would have this nasty frown all the time. He tries to hide it when he's with us but I can see through it."

Emily just sat there in shock. It was like all of sudden the once little girl is gone and she was replaced by this very mature-thinking young woman who has more wisdom and kindness to share than anyone. It breaks her heart that she's causing so much pain to her little Maya. Her honorary daughter, as she likes to think. But she was so amazed by her resilience. Her capability to adapt to so much change in her surroundings.

"Then you came along. First, I've noticed that dad would actually smile. A real smile – one that would reach right up to his eyes. Then, he just seemed cheerful again, lively. Like he was seeing colors again rather than just black and white. When you first visited us, I knew. You were the one doing that to him. And you have no idea how much I prayed to the heavens and whoever higher being there is that you'd stay for a long time, maybe even forever, because you're so amazing. You were the one who told me to be strong when I thought I was stuck. You told me to hold on because things would get better. So _please_ , Emmy, be strong and hold on. I know they're not right now, but things will be better. Just… just don't leave me." She said that last quietly, barely a whisper, but Emily heard it well.

"Oh, sweetheart, come here." She pulled the crying girl into her arms and hugged her tightly. Never had any words hit her so much than the ones that just came out from this 10-year old girl.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to her. "I'm so sorry that you had to see all of it, that you had to deal with it. You don't deserve this. But I promise you, I'm trying and I'm fighting. You're right, I have not been _okay_ for a long time since that incident, but I can tell you that I am in a better place now than I was before. I'm not at a hundred percent yet, but I will get there. You guys have given me amazing amount of love and support."

"I love you, Emmy." Maya whispered to her.

"I love you too, Maya. So much."

"And sweetheart?" She tilted her chin so Maya would look up to her. "You're not going to lose me. That I can promise you."

/

Later that evening, as Hotch and Emily were cuddled in the hospital bed, they were filled with contemplative silence. Emily was so calm and still that Hotch actually thought she had already fallen asleep.

"I still don't understand why I have to stay here for the night. I've finished all the tests they wanted to do." Emily broke the silence.

"They just want to be sure, alright? We don't want to take any risks."

She sighed. "Right. Sorry."

"Why don't you try to get some sleep? It's late."

"Not tired yet." She whispered.

"Hey, Aaron?" Emily started again.

"Hmm?"

"I want to be better."

His brows furrowed in confusion and looked down on her, head resting on his sturdy chest and her face seems calm. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, sweetheart."

"I want… I want to be okay – to be better. I don't want to be sad anymore about _this_. I've already lost so much, and I don't to lose any more. I don't want that monster to win. I want to get back to work, to go out on dates with you, to spend time with the kids and attend to them. I want to have fun with the team. I want my life back. I know it's going to take a lot of time and healing – physically and emotionally, but I'm going to do it. I'm just… I'm done playing the victim."

 _Wow._ As if this woman couldn't amaze him any more than she already does. "You know, just by saying that, you're already half-way there."

She huffed. "You have too much faith in me."

"And why shouldn't I? You have been proving yourself over and over again. You amaze me, Emily Prentiss." He kissed forehead, her favorite gesture of love.

"Well thank you."

"I love you, sweetheart."

Emily leaned to kiss him. "I love you too."

"Everything will be alright." He whispered.

"Everything will be alright."

Indeed, it will. They will both make sure of that.

 **A/N: This is starting to piss me off. But you guys are amazing! xx.**


	26. Chapter 26

Emily made good on her promise. The promise to herself to be better. She's seen her therapist three times a week, until it was reduced to once a week after 3 weeks of progressive and fulfilling sessions. Her therapist even sent her clearance to go back to work to Hotch and Strauss. Emily also got her medical clearance. These elated Hotch, not only because he knew how hard Emily had worked to fully recover, but also because he knew Emily had been itching to get back to work.

Emily loved being at home. She loved making breakfast, helping the kids get ready, cleaning the house, and occasionally picking the kids up from school, helping them with homework, making dinner. She does all of this in between therapy sessions, gym sessions, and medical appointments if any. She's too embarrassed to admit it, but the part that she likes the most was welcoming Hotch home from work. She liked the feeling of it. And of course, Hotch loved going home to Emily as well.

Especially tonight. Tonight he plans to surprise Emily with a date. A real-honest-to-goodness-no-kids date. One that's long overdue. He already had it planned – leaving the office early enough to prevent Emily from starting dinner, his mother taking the kids for the night, Dave helping him with the restaurant reservations. It's all planned out.

He sighed as he put the car in park. He grabbed the gift bag from the back seat before getting off. He was nervous about this gift and doesn't understand why. Probably because there is a lying possibility that Emily might not like it. But hey, he'd gladly replace it if she didn't like it.

"Sweetheart, I'm home!" He greeted as he entered the door.

"Hey!" She got up from the couch and greeted him with long kiss that he gladly responded to. "You're home early?"

He shrugged, "slow day." He pulled her closer against him. "Besides, I have this loooonngg overdue date with my amazing girl and I would really like not to postpone it any longer."

Her mouth dropped. _Did he seriously leave the office early just to take me on a date?_

"Aaron-"

He cut her off the best way he know how. When they pulled away, he looked deeply into her eyes and asked, "Emily Prentiss, would you like to go to dinner with me? Tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Tonight."

She pulled away from him, pretending to think about it. "I don't know, I'd have to check my schedule."

He laughed at that. _God she's adorable_. "If it helps my case, I got you this." He said, handing her the bag.

"What's this?"

"Why don't you open it and see for yourself." Emily timidly smiled as she opened the gift. It was quite large so she had to sit on the couch and put the box on the coffee table.

Her breath caught as she saw what was inside – a beautiful midnight blue designer dress. "It's beautiful." She whispered as she ran her finger delicately over the dress.

She turned to him and said, "You know I still would've said yes even without the dress, right?"

"I know, sweetheart. This is just a little gift. I don't give you a lot of gifts but just… just humor me, okay?"

She giggled. "Alright then."

"So that's a yes?"

"Definitely a yes." She smiled. "Wait, what time are we supposed to be there?"

"Our reservation's at 7. So you still have about 2 and a half hours to get ready."

"Wait, Jack and Maya-"

"-are with my mother for the night."

She huffed. "You really have this all planned out, haven't you?"

"I just want the best for my girl."

She kissed him on the jaw. "You're a sweet, sweet man, Aaron Hotchner."

/

"Em?" He knocked on the bedroom door. "Are you ready, sweetheart?" In order to maximize the time, and honestly, for the sake of the element of surprise, Hotch let Emily use the master's bedroom to get ready, while he used the guest room.

Now, it's been almost two hours and it was time to leave. And frankly, he's excited to see her.

"Yeah. You can come in!" He heard her call.

He opened the door and walked in. He found Emily standing in front of the full mirror, turning left and right, checking to see if she missed anything.

Hotch stopped in the middle of the room, eyes locked on the goddess in front of her.

He hadn't realized that he'd been staring for too long until Emily called him out. "Aaron?"

He walked up to her. "You look beautiful."

She leaned up to quickly give him a kiss. "You make me feel beautiful."

"Shall we go?" She asked.

"Yes, but one more thing…" He then held her shoulders and turned her, facing her to the mirror again. "Close your eyes."

"We've had enough surprises for tonight, don't you think?" She asked playfully but closed her eyes anyway.

When she felt Aaron leave her back, she got a little nervous. "Aaron?"

"I'm here, sweetheart." He said as he placed the tiny box on the bed, taking its content with him. He walked back to her and said, "Keep your eyes closed."

She nodded. She could feel Aaron moving from behind her, and suddenly felt something being placed on her neck.

"There." He said after securing the necklace and fixing her hair. "Open your eyes."

Once she realized what the solid feeling on the top of her chest was, she gasped. "Aaron-" It was a silver necklace with a teardrop diamond pendant.

"I know you don't like material gifts, and I've probably gone overboard by your standards for tonight, but anyway, I saw this at the mall when Maya and I went to get materials for her project. This was on the display window. We walked by, saw it, and I just knew. I just knew that this should belong to you."

"It's beautiful." She whispered as she touched the pendant.

"It's simple but indestructible. Just like you."

She smiled at that. Leave it to Hotch to have her melting with every word. "Thank you." She turned to him with a slight pout and said, "but I didn't get you anything."

"It's fine, sweetheart. You are my gift." He winked at her.

She giggled. "Now can we go?"

"Yes, my love. We can go."

/

"This place is amazing!" She gushed. They were at one of the fancy restaurants in DC – the kind that will have you second guessing about eating the food not only because it's pricey but also because the presentation is amazing. She would never even think of treating herself in these kind of restaurants.

"This restaurant is always fully-booked. How did you manage to get us in?" She asked.

"I may have some connections." He shrugged. She raised her eyebrows at him. _God he's such a bad liar, at least when it comes to me._ He smirked because he knew she didn't buy that.

"Okay Dave may have some connections. I know you've been eyeing this place for some time and I know you really wanted to try it but you're always too cheap when it comes to yourself."

"Hmm." She hummed her agreement. "True."

Their night was going amazing. Emily was smiling the entire time, and she doesn't seem to notice it until Hotch pointed it out to her.

Emily was blabbing about how she almost threw up on the King of Spain at this ball her mother brought her into when she was 11.

"It was so tragic and traumatizing yet funny at the same time. I think it would've been amazing if I did throw up on him. If only my mother hadn't-" She stopped as she noticed Hotch just smiling while staring at her.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like an idiot." She said in a deadpan voice, but smiled in the end.

"Well that's because you haven't stopped smiling and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

She blushed at that. She didn't even noticed it. She was too happy for her to stop smiling. This man in front of her makes her happy.

So lost in her thought, Emily hadn't notice the string quartet that came in. Dave actually booked them the small function room of the restaurant, complete with the perfect set-up. At first he thought how the hell could he ever pay him for this? This man just put him in debt. But then he realized it was for Emily. Dave booked the entire thing for Emily, to ensure that she'd have the most wonderful and perfect date.

Emily jumped as the quartet started. Her back was against the door so she didn't see them set up. She turned and smiled in awe. _Yup, definitely the perfect date._

"I think that's my cue." He stood up and offered his hand to her. "Emily Prentiss, would you like to dance with me?"

She giggled and accepted his hand. "Why of course, Mr. Hotchner. It would be my pleasure."

"You're beautiful. Did I ever tell you?" He murmured. Their faces close to each other, eyes locked together.

She shrugged. "Only like a hundred times a day. Really, Aaron, you need to step up your game."

They laughed. Leave it to Emily to make a joke out of anything. She knows how to make him smile, laugh, live, and just _feel._ She's stubborn and knows how to push all his buttons when she wants to but god he doesn't even mind. He loves it. He loves her.

"You remembered my favorite song." She said, pulling him out of his thoughts, referring to the song that they were currently dancing to – _Moon River._

"Of course, I did. I'm thinking this could be our song."

"Our song." _Cheesy, but not entirely an absurd idea._

They were lost in their own little world as they swayed to the music. Emily still couldn't believe it. She thought these kinds of things only happened in the movies; she thought a prince charming only existed in the movies. But here she is, dancing with her own prince charming. She never thought that she'd come to this point in her life – a point where there was stability. And maybe all those bad experiences she's had before were only preparing her for this moment in her life, where she's strong as a rock and yet very open and very ready to give and receive love.

She sighed in contentment as she buried her face on the crook of his neck. "I don't even remember a time in my life where I was this happy." She whispered.

His heart swelled at her confession. _God the amount of love he has for this woman!_ "Emily…" He stopped, trying to find the right words. "You're my everything."

She pulled away a little so she could face him. Then pulled him in for a searing kiss, which he gladly responded.

"I love you." He whispered huskily as they pulled away.

"I love you too."

/

Later that night, back at his apartment, they were cuddled in bed, bare naked and bodies covered in sweat. They've waited for this moment – they'd be lying if they say they didn't. Honestly, there could've been lots of opportunities for them to do it, but Hotch doesn't work like that. No. He was not about to take advantage of her emotions and vulnerability. He wanted their first time to be special – as cliché as it may sound. But he wanted to do it right – for Emily. He doesn't want to do it in a whim. He wanted to take his time, showing her just how much he worshipped her and how beautiful she is. He wanted to take his time exploring her. He wanted to make love to her.

And make love he did. Emily was speechless for quite some time, which was a first for Emily Prentiss. She knew how intense and passionate this man could be when it comes to his job, and god knew that the same level of intensity, he exudes also in making love. Now she definitely knew the difference between sex and making love. And Aaron Hotchner just ruined her for any other man.

"What are you thinking?" She asked, voice muffled as she buried face further in the crook of his neck.

"I'm thinking how amazing you are." He smiled.

"Yeah. I kind of am."

"And humble too." They laughed. _Yes pillow talk!_ "Oh I have one more surprise."

Emily use his chest as leverage so she could look at him. "Aaron, if this is another-"

He shut her the best way he know how. "Can you let me finish?" He asked when he pulled away.

"Hey I've let you finish! Four times actually." She smirked.

He gave her a serious face and held for as long as he could. But then he gave in and laughed. A real laugh, and that made Emily laugh too. "God, woman, what am I going to do with you?"

"Make love to me again?" She grinned.

"As much as I'd love to do that, another round would probably kill me and would probably render your physical therapy useless. So I think we should rest for the night, my love."

"Hmm. You're right." She kissed his jaw. "So you were saying?"

"As I was saying, my surprise was that I got the news today that you're all cleared for work."

She gasped loudly and sat up facing him, forgetting that she was naked, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now, would you like to know when?" He laughed.

"Yes!"

"Wednesday next week. Strauss didn't want you to start back on a full week just yet."

She giggled excitedly and went back to her original position. "I don't even care! I'm so excited!"

"I was also thinking that you could use those days to re-certify, yeah?" Emily was cleared for field duty but she'd need to do a re-certification for her gun as procedure entails.

"Oh yeah. Yeah. I'll do that."

"And you also need to see Galvez." Galvez was the most hated FBI shrink.

"What?! Why?! I already have a psychologist. I still go to sessions."

"I know, sweetheart. But it's only one time, maybe on your first day back? I'll schedule you, just so you can be done with it. It's only protocol, okay? You're cleared. I promise."

"Fine. But I'm not happy about that." She made clear.

"Duly noted."

"I'm so excited. And I'm really happy." She said as she yawned.

"I'm glad you are. I'm happy too. Over the moon is a better term."

"I love you" She whispered sleepily. Hotch knew she finally drifted to sleep. _Only Emily._

"I love you too, sweetheart." He kissed her forehead and joined her in dreamland.


	27. Chapter 27

"Okay. I want to know everything, the time, place, food, song, conversation topics, the sex-"

"Garcia!" Emily scolded. They were out for brunch. Another overdue girl's day out.

"What?! As one of your bestest friend, it is my duty to ensure that you get nothing but the best in all aspects of life, and believe it or not, that includes your sex life. So spill."

"Well, at least lower you voice. I don't think everyone would be interested to know."

"Oh please, everyone is dying to know how Aaron Hotchner does in bed." JJ laughed and Garcia joined her.

Emily lifted both her hands in surrender. "Alright. That's it. I'm done having brunch with you two."

JJ huffed. "No, you're not. You love us."

"That is true." Emily agreed.

"Now, please. Start sharing."

She sighed. There really was no way getting out of this, and she'd rather not fight an argument she'd never win. "Alright. Well, you all know that day he clocked out early."

"Yes. Of course. It was like the Angelus suddenly rang out. Everyone stopped." Garcia said, which made them laugh. It was true though. Hotch came out of his office early with all his things. Everyone stopped and looked as he made his way to the glass doors. But all he did was say a short "good bye."

"Anyway, he got home, and asked me if we could finally have that date. I didn't answer at first, but then he gave me a dress."

"A dress?" JJ exclaimed.

"We've got a dress, people!" Garcia almost shouted.

"Yes, a dress. Aaron Hotchner does come prepared. But just so you know, I would've said yes even without the dress, or any gift for that matter. Anyway, he insisted that we get ready on separate rooms to maximize the time. So we did that, then he came into the room and gave me another gift."

"Another one? Wow, Aaron Hotchner setting the bar high." JJ said.

"What is it? What is it?!" Garcia asked impatiently.

"This." She said as she held out her necklace.

"Wow." JJ and Garcia both said at the same time.

"I don't know why, but there's just something about him giving jewelries."

"He gave you one before?" JJ asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Remember that gala? The necklace I was wearing that night was a gift from him.

Garcia gasped exaggeratingly. "The double-row diamond riviere necklace that was the envy of every woman that night?"

Emily rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. "Yes. That one."

"Where can I get a Hotchner? Any other Hotchners out there?" Garcia teased.

"Oh no. I think Emily right here caught the last one." JJ said.

"You're right." She pouted. She then motioned to Emily, "Continue, gumdrop."

"You know, if it wasn't for all the interruptions, I would've finished telling this story."

"Oh shush. You like stalling. Go on now."

Emily giggled. "So there was the necklace. Then we drove to Marcel's."

"Marcel's?!" JJ and Garcia both said at the same time.

"No more interruptions, please!"

"Right. Sorry."

"I asked him how got reservations since that place is always full and he said he had a little help from Dave. So, Dave apparently ended booking an entire function just for the two of us, complete with a nice set-up and a string quartet."

"Oh my gosh. That is definitely a dream date, Em." JJ gushed.

Emily blushed. It definitely was. "So anyway, we had a great time. Food was amazing. We danced. Had cake and ice cream. Went home and then we…yeah." She ended at that, hoping that her friends would let the topic go.

But it was a lost cause. "So what exactly happened during that _then we… yeah_ part?" Garcia prodded, followed by a nod from JJ.

"Here's all I'm going to tell you – there is no word to perfectly describe what happened during that time."

"So he was _that_ good?" Garcia whispered. Emily nodded. "Well, at least tell us how many times?!"

"Garcia!" Emily laughed. "I am not telling you."

"Oh you probably lost count." Garcia prodded.

"I'm done talking."

"She totally did." JJ decided.

Thankfully, the topic shifted shortly thereafter to Emily's return to work. At the end of their brunch, the three women headed to JJ's car. They carpooled, so JJ had the task to drop them off at their own homes. But it was no trouble since it was on her way anyway.

Garcia was the first one to be dropped off. As soon as JJ pulled out of the parking area, Emily opened up a topic that's been bothering her since they talked about her sex life.

"Hey Jayje."

"Hmm?" JJ answered, still focused on the road.

"I don't think…" She sighed. "I'm not very sure we used protection that night." She said in one breath, her voice fading.

When they were at the stop light, JJ turned to face. "And this is bothering you because?"

When she didn't receive an answer, she knew. "Wait. You're not on the pill." She said quietly.

Emily sighed and shook her head. "No. I haven't been back on the pill yet. I was going to have an appointment for next Saturday with gynecologist to see where I am with those stuff… so no, no pills."

JJ drove again while Emily was explaining that to her. She's not quite sure what advice to give. "Well, do you think there's a high chance?"

Emily huffed. "No. I mean, when I had that abortion at 15, it did some damage. So it would be hard for me to conceive."

"But it's not impossible."

"It's not impossible."

They were quiet for the rest of the ride. JJ could see that Emily was truly bothered by it. When she finally pulled over in front of her building, she sighed and turned to her.

"Hey Em, I'm going to ask you something and I need you to be honest, please." To which Emily nodded.

"If you indeed become pregnant, would that be a bad thing?" Then Emily shook her head.

"Would you be happy about it?"

Emily nodded and whispered, "Yes."

JJ reached out to hold her hand. "Hey. Listen to me, Hotch loves you. I know you're really bothered by this so please talk to him about it, okay? There's nothing to be afraid of. It takes two tango."

Emily huffed. "Right."

"Em, I'm serious. Talk to him, or else this will eat you up, and I'm not going to let that happen. And even if you were to become pregnant, it's not a bad thing. You've been wanting to, right?"

"Yes. But I wanted to do it right."

It was JJ's turn to huff. "Since when did you ever do things traditionally? Emily, I swear to you, you'll feel better about it when you've talked to him, alright?"

It took a while, but Emily seem to accept that. "Alright."

/

Later that night, after devouring their dinner, they were all focused on a movie that Maya had been wanting to watch. However, the kids fell asleep in the middle of it. It was a rather tiring day, with the rest of the afternoon spent grocery shopping and at the park.

Once they were in the room, ready to also call it a night, Emily finally had gathered up the courage to talk to Hotch.

They were in bed. Hotch was reading a book while Emily just sat there. So she took a deep breath and started the conversation.

"Aaron?"

"Hmm?" He answered back. But when he didn't receive a response from Emily, he dropped his book and face her. He noticed the wariness on her face, so he knew something was bothering her.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He prodded, sitting up to face her.

"Well, you remember when we… when we…" Emily mentally berated herself for suddenly being inarticulate.

"Em, a little help out here?" He said, confused as to why Emily was suddenly so nervous.

Emily sighed in frustration. "We didn't use protection when we… " She whispered.

"Oh." _Oh!_ As she expected, Hotch was surprised, and the alarm was evident on his face. He was a little surprised because he's not sure if he's in trouble with her, but when he looked at her, he saw that she was somehow physically recoiling herself from him. As if preparing herself for him to yell or get mad.

"And you're not on the pill."

"No." She whispered again, lying down on the bed and covering herself.

Aaron had to laugh at the childish gesture. "Em. You do know that hiding under the covers does not make this go away, don't you?"

"If I wish hard enough, maybe it will." Her voice muffled.

"Come here you." He said, pulling the covers away from her face. "Hey, listen. I'm sorry, sweetheart, about not having protection. I'm sorry about not thinking about you and definitely not thinking ahead."

"Aaron, I'm sorry too. I should've told you I wasn't on the pill."

Aaron pulled her up and hugged her tightly against him. "I think we can both agree that we were both at fault on that aspect, yeah?" She nodded. "I'm sorry that this is bothering you." He whispered.

"I just didn't want you to think—" He cut her off.

"Hey! None of that, okay? I love you and I would never think of you like that. You're not the kind of woman."

Emily pulled away and faced him. "Aaron, what if I… what if we…"

"Become pregnant?" She nodded.

"Then I would be the happiest person on earth." There was an awkward pause. "Would you be?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes." She nodded with a wide grin on her face. "You've wanted more kids?"

"With you? Definitely." He smiled, and god that was enough to melt her insides. He leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "Emily, I want everything with you- all of it."

"Well that's good news because I want everything with you too." Then she kissed him.

And with that, everything else was forgotten. The world just revolved around them. And maybe a little revisit on the protection topic in the coming days.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: I meant to post this on Sunday (actual Mother's Day), but I didn't finish it in time. Lol. So here it is. xx**

Emily has been back to work for a month and so far it's been good. She was back to the agent that she was before and boy were they glad to have her. It was like the cases became easier since she came back although they knew that was only psychological.

Now, Emily loves being back at work. She was born to do this, it's natural. However, she would often find herself missing home. She missed the kids, the relaxed feeling, the peace. Hell, she missed Aaron. At work they were Hotch and Prentiss, and those two are totally different from Aaron and Emily. She didn't have all those before. All she had was her job – no kids, no man, to come home to and think of. But now she does, and she absolutely loves it.

It was a weekend and Aaron and Emily were happy to be home and finally have a couple of days off (hopefully) after weeks of travelling out of state and working. They were having lunch with Jack and Maya, who just so happy to be with their dad and Emily again.

"Emily?" Jack said, still focusing on his food.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Why were you crying last night? And daddy, Emily was calling for you." That made everyone stop in their tracks. Maya looked at them with wide eyes, and tried to contain her laughter. Emily and Hotch looked at each other, blushing hard.

"Were you having a bad dream?" Jack asked innocently. "Daddy, that was not nice for you to ignore Emily. Did you not hear her?"

"Oh my god." Maya uttered, still laughing at the two, until Hotch sent her a glare. "Sorry." She said, still the amusement was evident.

"How did you hear that, Jack?" Hotch asked, trying to act as if it didn't surprise him by going to his meal, so did Emily and Maya.

"I woke up last night and I was very thirsty. So I went to the kitchen and when I walked past your door, I heard Emily crying."

"I did have a nightmare, Jack. And I didn't even realize I was calling your dad's name, but he did wake up and made me feel better." Emily explained, trying to get out of the awkward situation.

"Oh. Okay. Dad really does know how to make you feel better. He fights the monsters away!" Jack said with so much conviction, while the two adults were just relieved to final have that conversation over.

"That he does." Emily agreed. Awkward silence filled the rest of their meal. That was until little Jack started another interesting conversation.

"Daddy." He called in his little voice.

"Yes, Jack?"

"It's a mother's day on Monday, and we're supposed to bring our moms to school."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhmm. I have the letter in my book bag. I can show you later."

"Sure. I'd like to see that."

"Can I invite mommy?" Jack ask innocently. Again, another question from the young boy that made everyone stop.

"It's not that easy, Jack."

"Why not?"

"Well, your mommy can't see you yet."

"Why?" He asked. If that quivering lip was any indication, Hotch knew he'd just broken his heart, and it won't be pretty.

"Jack-"

"No! I want mommy!" He started to cry. "I want mommy!"

"Jack, no shouting at the table." Hotch said sternly, already starting to lose his cool. Emily, of course, felt this and put her hand on his arm, trying to remind him to stay calm. But how could he? How could he explain to his young son that their abusive mother had no more rights over them?

Jack ignored his father's warning and turned his anger to his sister. "This is your fault! You made mommy go away! And now she won't come back."

"Jack that's enough." Hotch warned again. The _Agent Hotchner_ in him almost starting to come out.

"I wish it was just you who went away!"

 _That was it._ "Jack, time out. Up to your room. Now." He almost growled. Little Jack made a run for his room. He knew he was in so much trouble. He thought if only his mommy was here, he wouldn't be in so much trouble.

Maya just kept her head down and fiddled with her food. She heard her dad and Emily sigh at the same time.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, so faintly that Hotch and Emily barely heard her. But they did.

"Maya, it's not-"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry!" she cried, and ran up to her room and slammed the door.

 _Well there goes their supposedly nice Saturday,_ Hotch thought. He didn't even notice Emily leave the table until she came back and placed a glass of cold water in front of him.

"Drink." She all but ordered him. So drink he did. "Now you go sit in the living room and try to calm yourself." She stood up, collecting the plates.

"Em-"

"Uh uh. Go sit and calm yourself down. We don't need Agent Hotchner at home. We need Aaron, the dad. So go sit and I will get back to you after I'm done with the dishes. Go."

He did as he was told. He walked to the living room, sat on the couch, leaned his head on the back rest and just stared at the ceiling. Until he realized, _wait a minute! Did she just-?_ He thought. _Oh well_. He hated to admit it, but Emily Prentiss did have him wrap around her finger.

Emily sat down beside him. She needed time to think and doing the dishes was the perfect excuse.

"You calm?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Ready to talk to the kids?"

He groaned. "When and how did it get so complicated?"

"Really? You're asking me that? A person who's never been a parent?" She smiled, trying make the situation lighter.

She somehow succeeded as Hotch's lips turned up slightly. "Trust me, you're more of a mother to them than their own mother was."

She hummed, not so sure if she should agree or what. "I don't want to impose into them something that they don't want."

Just then, in this moment, with that statement, Hotch realized how selfless this woman really is. Of course, he already knew that fact. But this just took it to a different extent. Her selflessness was one of the many things he admired about her.

He hugged her tightly against his side just for a longer before finally deciding that it was time to talk. "I better go and talk to those gremlins."

"Your gremlins."

He chuckled. "True." He pulled her up and kissed her forehead. "A little help?"

"Sure. You take Jack, I take Maya."

"Alright." They made their way upstairs, hand in hand. "I'll come in and talk to Maya after too."

"And stay calm, please" She emphasized. "No more glaring or Agent Hotchner voice."

"I am calm."

"Good. Now go. While Maya and I have a little chat about when a man and a woman love each other…"

"Em!" He swears to god… this woman…

She laughed. "I'm kidding!" She walked up to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Go."

/

Hotch gently knocked on Jack's door before opening it slightly to peek in. "Jack?"

But Jack's back was to him and he was ignored. So he let himself in and sat beside him on his bed. He didn't make any move, he just sat there.

"Buddy, can you look at me?" He asked gently, trying to convey that he was not mad. "I don't think you can escape this, bud. You and I need to talk."

He waited until Jack turned to face him.

"Jack-"

"I'm sorry, daddy." He said, his voice quivering. Hotch sighed and pulled Jack onto his lap and hugged him tight.

"It's okay, Jack. I forgive you. I get that you're upset, and that's okay. It's a valid emotion. But you knew the rules – no screaming over the dining table, especially when we're having a meal because…?"

"It's disrespectful."

"That's right." He kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry too, son."

Jack pulled away slight to look up at him with confusion. "What are you sorry for?"

He had to smile at that. "I'm sorry that I lost my temper and scared you. I'm sorry that you can't see your mother. I'm sorry I did not anticipate how badly this has affected you – that I thought everything was ok."

"Everything is okay." He said matter-of-factly. _Oh if everyone could just the forgiveness and understanding of a child,_ he thought.

"I'm sorry that you miss mommy, and it's okay to miss her."

"I do miss her. I haven't seen her in a long time. I miss her hugging me and giving me kisses." He said quietly, as if he'd get in trouble again if he talked about her.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, bud?"

"Is mommy in jail? That's why we can't see her?"

Hotch's brows knitted in confusion. "What made you think that?"

"Remember you said she has to be responsible because she was mean to Maya and Maya got so hurt because of her. Alex told me the police came to their house one night and took his mommy and daddy and they went to jail because they hurt him and older brother."

"And this Alex, is he a classmate of yours?"

"Mhmm. He's very nice. Sometimes though, he comes to school sad and hurt. There were marks on his face. But not anymore! They live with their grandma now and he told me she's really nice."

He sighed. Guess he just had to explain it then, as plain as a 5-year-old could understand.

"Jack, I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?"

He nodded vigorously. "Okay dad."

"You're right about mommy having to be responsible for hurting Maya. But, she's not in jail, okay? She just can't see you because that's her punishment for being so mean and not following the law. She's not in jail, but she has to stay away from you and Maya for quite a while."

"How long?"

"Just… a while, buddy. But I promise you, when she's finally allowed to, we will contact her so you can see her, alright?"

"Okay." Little Jack agreed sadly. He knew it will be a long time.

"Are we okay on that? You understand why mommy can't be at your school or why she can't see you?"

He nodded. "Yes, dad. I still miss her though."

"I know, buddy. And that's okay. It's okay to miss her, Jack. She's your mom and you love her. I'm sure she misses you too. And don't forget that she loves you very much – that will never go away."

He nodded his little head again. "I love her too."

"I know, buddy." Hotch hugged his son tightly against him. "Now, about that mother's day thing at your school."

"Oh. The letter!" Jack hopped off Hotch's lap and off the bed to retrieve the letter from his book bag. He climbed back on his bed and sat beside father, handing him the letter.

Hotch took the time to read it. It was an invitation for all the mothers/grandmothers/aunts/motherly figures of their students for a little celebration at the school gym at 10am-12nn. Students will also dismissed at 12.

"Dad, do you think grandma will go with me?"

"I think she'll like that, Jack." He smiled.

"What about Emily?" He asked quietly.

Hotch smiled even wider. "I think Emily would be absolutely thrilled if you invite her, buddy. She'll love that."

"She won't get mad? I don't want to make her uncomftable" He pouted.

"Why would you think she'll get mad?"

"Because I'm not really her kid."

"Jack, it says in the letter "motherly figures." Do you know what the means?"

Jack shook his head. "No."

"Well, a motherly figure is someone who's not really your mother, someone who's not given birth to you, but they do motherly things like take care of you, take you to school, cuddle you when you're sick, and most especially, they love you like a mother does."

"Like Emily!" He exclaimed.

Hotch smiled and nodded. "Yes, like Emily. And grandma. Remember, grandma is my mother but she also does motherly things for you, right?"

"Mhmm. So it's okay if I invite Emily? She won't get mad?"

"It's definitely okay, buddy. And she definitely won't get mad."

"Okay. I'll invite her."

"Alright. Now, I know I promised we'd go to the park, but you broke a rule, so you have to be what?"

"Responsible." He answered dejectedly.

"That's right. So no park for us today. But we can do other things, alright? We'll try to have much fun indoors."

"Okay, dad. I'm really sorry."

"I know, buddy, and it's okay. You're forgiven. I love you." He hugged him tight.

"I love you too, dad."

/

Emily knocked and peeked in Maya's door. "Hey, can I come in?"

At Maya's nod, Emily came in and closed the door. She then sat on the bed facing her. "Maya, you know it's not your fault, right?"

"But why does it feel like it is?" She asked tearfully.

"Jack didn't mean any of that. He was just angry."

"You're not a very good liar." Maya said, looking away from Emily.

She knew she shouldn't sulk about this. But when Jack shouted that it was her fault, it just… hurt. All the guilt came rushing back at her.

"What am I supposed to feel then? Because you know what, I can't even describe the amount of guilt that came rushing back at me when he told me that."

"Maya, look at me." Emily waited until she did. "Guilt is something humans feel, but you should not suffer over it, not when there's nothing to be guilty about. Your mother was abusive and you almost died because she was negligent. It's not your fault. Jack will understand that when he gets older. That's it. That's all I can give you. We can go in circles over and over, but it will always come back to that one explanation – it's not your fault. Now you can either take that or let it swallow you and be sad for the rest of your life."

There was contemplative silence for a while. But Emily knew that Maya was trying to crossover that guilt.

"Why me?" She asked quietly. "Why was I the target of her rage? I mean, not that I wish it on Jack because I don't, not ever, but why me? What's the logic in that?"

"Well, there is no logic. Human minds are difficult and can vary in every person. Abusive parents tend to target a child that reminds them of their childhood self, or maybe that child reminds them of someone else, a past aggressor maybe-"

"Or maybe because I'm not really hers." Maya whispered.

"Yeah, and that too." Emily moved to sit beside her and pulled her tightly against her side, kissing her head. "But you know what? That's in the past now. There's always room for new beginnings. No one can hurt you now, I promise." She whispered.

"Before, when we were still living with mom and we'd go here and you'd be here too, I never wanted to leave ever. Because then I'd only go back to the dark, to the hurt. But here with dad and you, it was always happy. I always happy. I'd always wish I could stay here. Sometimes I'd wish that you were my mom." She whispered that last sentence so quietly, but Emily heard her.

"Sometimes I wish I was." Emily whispered back. God, if kids were as easy as Maya and Jack, she'd have 15 of them. But she knew it wasn't. Maya and Jack are special.

Maya pulled back and looked at her, as if trying to find a sign that she was lying; that she was only saying that to make her feel better, but there was none.

"You can be now, though. I mean, if you still want to. I kind of thought you already were." She smiled.

Emily couldn't help but smile back. "I love you, sweet girl."

"I love you too, Emmy."

"Now… about what Jack heard last night…" Emily started.

Maya groaned in annoyance and pulled away. "Oh no."

"When a man and woman love each other…" Emily continued teasing her.

"Stop." Maya whined, and Emily couldn't help but laugh at the disgusted look on her face.

"Hey! You are bound to have this conversation with either of us anyway."

"I know, but… no details. I know I should be responsible, and it's something that you only do with someone you feel strongly about romantically, someone you love." Maya said.

"That's right. And remember to always take care of yourself. You can say no, and that should really mean _no."_

"Okay, can we talk about something else now?" Maya practically begged.

"Sure. What else do you feel that we need to discuss?"

"How about getting sound-proof walls and not scarring what's left of our innocent childhood?" She deadpanned.

Emily laughed. This is probably the best outcome of an awkward situation she's ever had. "I shall discuss it with your father."

Maya made a face and groaned. "I really really want to forget this part of the conversation, and the moment Jack brought it up. Ugh."

/

Hotch knocked on Maya's door, little Jack in tow. He could hear them laughing. _Women._ So he knew the conversation ended well. "May we come in?"

"Sure!" Maya answered.

"Hey, Em. This little man has something to ask you." Hotch said, smiling.

"Oh he does?" She reached her hands out for Jack and pulled him into her lap. "What is it, baby?" She asked, cuddling him against her.

"Emmy, would you like to go to the Mother's Day event at my school?" He asked shyly.

"Well, is that what you really want? You really want me to come?" She asked, making sure the boy knows what he was asking.

He nodded. "Mhmm. I really want you to be there because you are like my second mommy, you do things a mommy does like take care of me and love me."

Emily wanted to cry upon hearing that. Jack said it so purely. "I do love you, Jack. And I would like to go to that event with you."

"I love you too, Emmy."

/

Monday came, and Jack was so excited to go to school and introduce Emily and his Grandma to everyone. Emily took the morning off and would be returning to work after lunch.

They arrived at the school just a little past 10. The walked around until they reached the gym which was packed with people. It was so festive and happy. They gave out free flowers and cupcakes for every mothers or motherly figures who were there. There were free food and activities and little games.

Emily wanted to make sure Jack would have the best time, so she played the games with him, even winning him a little stuffed elephant. She then felt Jack tugged her and Sharp's hands.

"I see my teacher! I want you to meet here. C'mon!" He said as he was practically dragging them to where his teacher was standing.

"Ms. Caldwell!" He called.

The woman, looking to be in her mid 30's, looked down and smiled as she saw Jack. "Hey there, Jack! You having a good time?"

He nodded. "Mhmm. Ms. Caldwell, this is my grandma." He said, pointing to Sharp. They made nice, introduced themselves.

"And this is Em'ly, my second mommy." He said proudly.

Emily was quite nervous but the teacher was nice. "It's very nice to meet you, Emily. Jack would talk about you all the time."

"It's very nice to meet you too."

The rest of the day went nicely. Jack introduced the two women to his friends excitedly, while they were happy to meet the other parents in return. All in all, it was a good outcome. Jack was happy and that's all that matters.

After the event, Jack and Sharp dropped Emily back to Quantico as she was meant to go back to work. Once back in the office, she went straight to Hotch to let her know she was back.

She knocked waited for a response to come in. She slightly opened the door and peeked her head in. "Hey! Just wanted to let you know I'm back."

"Hey!" He motioned her to come inside. He met her in the middle of his office, and pulled her against him, thankful that the blinds were closed. "Did you have a good time?"

'I had a wonderful time, and I'm pretty sure Jack was happy and so was your mother. Although, he's probably on a sugar rush by now so I'm not so sure how's that going for her."

He chuckled. "I'll give her a call."

"I'll go back to those files now. You know my boss could be a hard ass." She smirked.

"Right. And hey, don't forget our dinner tonight."

"How could I?" She kissed his jaw. "See you later."

Later that night, they went to a rather fancy restaurant, Hotch's treat for Mother's Day. Everyone was dressed up nicely. Once seated and ordered, Jack gave his presents of long-stem roses and cards to Emily and Sharp. Maya gave them both cards and a box of fancy chocolates each, to which she proudly declared were bought using her own allowance money.

Emily was elated. Two years ago, if anyone told her she'd be spending mother's day as a _mother_ , she probably would not have believed them. But now here she is, almost crying at the cards and gifts given by her _honorary_ kids – the kids that she loves as her own.

"Happy Mother's day, sweetheart." Hotch leaned in to whisper his greeting and give her a sweet kiss.

"Thank you." She said as they pull back, but not before stealing another quick kiss.

 _And maybe, next time, we'd be celebrating with another one. Hopefully._ Emily thought. _Yeah, she's definitely hoping._


	29. Chapter 29

"Maya!" Jack whispered, tapping his sister's face trying to wake her up. "Maya wake up."

Maya groaned and opened her eyes, trying to focus on the little boy standing on the side of her bed. "Jack, go back to bed."

"But Emmy and Daddy are fighting and they're loud."

Maya sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What?" She got off the bed and walked to the hallway. Sure enough, the muffled voices of Aaron and Emily could be heard, and it does sound like they were arguing. Her bedroom was the farthest from their room while Jack's was closer, that's probably why he could hear them when they screamed and she couldn't.

It did worry her a little. Emily and Aaron did not fight, at least not in front of them or not as loud as this. So, if they're at this point of screaming at each other, it must be one hell of an argument. It worried her because the last time she heard a couple fighting, it was her own parents and it ended up with them separating. Maya didn't want that to happen again – not with her dad and Emily.

With a sigh, she came back into her room. "C'mon, Jack. You can sleep here tonight."

Once they were settled back on the bed, Jack couldn't help but wonder. "Is Emmy going to go away?"

"No. I don't think so. It's just one stupid fight. It'll be all better in the morning, you'll see."

Jack's eyes were starting to close. "Okay. Good night, Maya."

"Good night, Jack."

/

The next morning, Emily and Hotch were happily making breakfast. It was a weekend, and though they'd had a rather tension-filled night, they talked, made up, and slept peacefully. They'd made a pact at the start of their relationship that whenever someone is upset or angry at the other, they'd talk it out, and not go to sleep angry. So that's what they did. Granted, the _talk_ consisted of a lot raised voices. It did them good to get the steam out of their systems. Eventually, they calmed down, had a good talk and worked everything out. And really, they were just both picking out fights. Yes, the topic was anything but small.

They just got back from a rather exhausting case – 5 days in Chicago trying close in on a serial arsonist. Everyone had little to no sleep and were basically running on coffee. Once they landed back to Quantico, they had to head back to the office for the rest of the day. It was then that Emily got a call from her lawyer about Peters' sentencing next month. He asked if Emily wanted to do a statement during the sentencing. But Emily couldn't give a definite answer just then so she said she'd call him back.

It's been almost two years since the incident, but every time Emily is reminded of it, it feels like it just happened yesterday. She still gets the nightmares, especially when a particular case sets as a trigger, but she knew she'd always have them. She just learned how to cope. Hotch helped a lot – he knew when to give her space, how to calm her down, and how to lift her spirits up.

Emily had gone to his office that day to tell him about the call and get his opinion. She initially wanted to do it, but was just having some hesitations. But Hotch was not having the best day. He had a bad migraine and he just wanted to end the day, get home to his kids, and cuddle with Emily.

 _"I think I want to do it, but I just don't feel like I'd know what to say. What do you think?"_

 _"No." He said without even looking up from his files._

 _"No? No what?"_

 _"No, meaning you're not giving a statement. No, meaning I am not letting you near that monster ever again. He does not deserve your words, your time, your energy, your effort." He said harshly._

 _"But-"_

 _"Em, please." He said, rubbing his eyes with his hand, trying to control the stupid pain in his head. "I'm having a migraine."_

Emily left his office without a word. It was okay for her that he's so protective, she liked that about him. But sometimes, it does get annoying. Case in point: what just happened in his office. The drive home was filled with silence. Hotch immediately knew he messed up when he heard his office door slam, and the cold shoulder she was giving him at dinner just confirmed it. Though they acted normal in front of the kids, the real battle started when the kids were asleep.

Hotch tried to apologize, tried saying that he didn't mean what he said at the office, he didn't mean to dismiss her like that. But Emily was having none of it. Once she got her chance to talk, she went on and on, and her temper seemed to rise by the second. To be fair, she'd been rather emotional lately, Hotch noticed it too. Her temper has been _bad,_ everyone on the team could attest to that. She explained that she was only asking for advice, she wasn't asking for his permission. This led to them raising their voices at each other. Eventually, Emily sat down on the bed, too tired to argue any more, too tired to think, too tired for everything. She cried and she didn't even know why. She's not a cryer, but right now she is. Seeing her cry broke his heart, so he apologized. In all fairness, it really was his fault. It was very late when they fell asleep, unaware that in the other room lied a very worried little boy and his sister who had trouble finding sleep again.

"Huh. That's weird." Hotch wondered loudly as he flips the pancakes.

"What's weird?"

"The kids are usually awake by now. They didn't stay up late last night."

"Maybe just sleeping in? C'mon, it's summer break."

But Hotch was still somewhat uneasy and Emily noticed that. "Why don't you go and wake them up? I'll finish those." She offered.

"Alright."

Hotch proceeded to Jack's room first. He opened the door and stopped. He felt the blood drain from his face. Jack was not in his room. He tried to calm himself down as he checked his bathroom. Still not there. He practically ran to Maya's room, and immediately gave a sigh of relief as he saw his kids sleeping peacefully on the bed.

"Hey, little gremlins. Time to wake up." He said softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed, shaking them softly. "C'mon, we don't want to keep Emily waiting for breakfast. You know she gets cranky."

Jack groaned and opened his eyes. "Dad. What time is it?"

"Well, it's time for breakfast. Why were you sleeping here, buddy?"

Maya was only starting to wake up when Jack answered quietly, "You guys were fighting and I got scared."

 _Oh._ It was really stupid of them to think that at least one of the kids won't hear them last night. _What were we thinking?_

But before Hotch could answer, Emily walked in. "Hey." Hotch turned his head to see Emily making her way inside the room.

"Oh wow. I guess we didn't get invited to the sleepover." She joked.

"Emmy, are you leaving?" Jack asked. At this point, Maya was awake too. But she had a hard time getting back to sleep last night, she was still too tired to engage in the conversation.

"Leaving? No, honey. What made you think that?" Emily was surprised by his question.

"You and daddy were fighting. When my mommy and dad fought, mom left."

Emily felt immediate guilt, and she knows Hotch did too, judging by the look on his face.

"Emily's not leaving, buddy." Hotch assured them.

"Oh, honey. Come here." Emily gathered the little boy in his lap and hugged him securely. "We're so sorry you guys heard that."

"Yeah. You guys didn't need to hear that. We're sorry that you did and it got you scared and worried." Hotch added.

"I'm just too emotional lately –"

"And dad was not very nice to her."

Emily grinned. "Yeah, that too."

"But you made up now? You're friends again?" Jack asked innocently.

That made them both laugh. "Yes, buddy. We talked and made up, and we're friends again." Hotch confirmed.

"And I promise you, I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you pregnant?" Maya asked, voice still thick from sleep. Hotch then gave Emily a confused look, also silently asking her the same question.

"What?! Why did you think that?"

"Well, pregnant women tend to be more emotional, and you just said you've been emotional lately. So, are you?"

Emily opened her in an attempt to say something but failed. A few seconds later, she tried again, stuttering. "I- ahh- I'm pretty sure I'm not." But in the back of her head, the thought lingers. _Maybe she is?_ She made a mental to revisit that topic later today.

"So, breakfast anyone?"

/

Two weeks later, the team was working a serial killer case in Florida. The moment they stepped out of the jet, they could already feel the intense heat. It was so bad that JJ and Emily immediately changed into cotton shirts at the precinct comfort room instead of wearing their normal button downs. The team also had endless supply of cold bottled water and Hotch made sure each person would carry one wherever they go. He also made sure that they stay at the precinct and only send people out whenever it is _really_ necessary.

Unfortunately for Emily, she has not been feeling the best the past few days, and the Florida heat only made it worse. Hotch had actually tried to convince her to stay at home for the past two days, but she said no. She couldn't understand what it was – she didn't have a fever; she would throw up some time in the day, and would sometimes feel light headed or dizzy, but it'll pass and she'd feel better. Again, Hotch had told her to go see her doctor and she did say she would, but she never really got to it. And now they're here and she feels like she got ran over by a truck.

"Are you okay?" Hotch asked her quietly and subtly, leaning just a tad bit closer to her. They were back at the precinct, cooped up in the little room that they PD prepared for them. They were throwing ideas out on the table.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Emily whispered. The room was air-conditioned and it made them all feel better, especially Emily.

Then there was a knock and the door opened, it was the chief. "Another body has been found, alongside the highway."

 _Oh great._ Everyone inwardly groaned. Morgan, Dave, Hotch, and Emily went while JJ stayed behind with Reid in the precinct to work on the geographical profile.

Emily knew Hotch was looking at her, observing her closely. "Stop it. I'm fine." She said sternly. And Hotch just shook his head in reply.

They were all standing on the side of highway, staring at the mutilated body. Dave and Morgan were interviewing possible witnesses not too far away, while Hotch was talking to the sheriff with Emily standing next to him, just staring at the body.

 _Too much. This heat is too much. I can't breathe. Everything is spinning._ Emily suddenly felt the world around her spin. She caught Hotch's arm and this immediately got his attention. Hotch turned to see a very unstable Emily.

"Prentiss?"

"Hotch" She said, her voice quivering. "I can't-" Then she blacked out.

Emily woke up to find herself in the ER hospital bed with Hotch sitting on a chair beside it. A curtain was drawn to ensure their privacy. She groaned as she remembered what happened. If fainting in front of police officers while on duty is not the most embarrassing thing ever, she doesn't know what is.

"Hey." Hotch greeted her softly.

Emily covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry."

"Em, what are you sorry for? You were sick."

"Exactly what I'm sorry for. I knew I was sick but I was too freaking stubborn to sit one case out, and now, not only did I embarrassed myself, but you as well, and the entire bureau probably. I'm pretty sure I'm holding you back from the case, you can go now-"

"Hey, stop it." He said sternly, pulling her hands away from her face. He could that she was really embarrassed and he felt bad for her. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's just one sick day, alright? And the heat didn't help either."

"No, it didn't" She pouted.

Hotch sighed. "How are you feeling?"

"Still a little dizzy but not as bad. What did the doctor say?"

"Well, she said you had low blood pressure and that's why you fainted. But they took some blood and she should be back with the results any time now."

"Alright. Really, Aaron, you can go back. I'll be fine here. They'll find nothing wrong and send me back to the hotel probably. I can handle the waiting."

"So I'll wait with you." He said dismissively.

"God you're stubborn." She murmured.

"It takes one to know one." Hotch smiled while Emily just rolled her eyes playfully.

Twenty minutes later, the doctor finally came much to Hotch's delight. Emily was already going stir crazy just sitting on the hospital bed doing nothing.

"Agent Prentiss, I'm Doctor Curtis. How are you feeling?"

"Better. I was dizzy when I first woke up, but now it's gone. Really, I feel better."

"Good. That's very good. Now, Agent Prentiss, did you know that you're pregnant?"

"Wait, what?" Hotch and Emily said at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise.

"I guess that's a no then. But you are pregnant, I'm sending our resident OB-GYN in here for your ultrasound. Congratulations!"

"Thank you" Emily mumbled, seemingly in a daze.

"Is everything ok with her?" Hotch asked for her.

"Yes. Her blood pressure is at normal now and there are no other complications, so you can be discharged after the ultrasound. I know you guys are on an active case right now, but Agent Prentiss, you need to take it easy. This weather won't do you any good. If possible, stay indoors. Stay hydrated and don't skip meals."

"I- I will do that. Thank you."

"Thank you, Dr. Curtis." Hotch shook her hand in thanks.

The doctor left and finally, Emily let her emotions out. She immediately put her hands on her still flat tummy.

"Oh my god." She whispered in awe. "A baby. I'm having a baby!" And then tears were streaming down her face.

Hotch couldn't help but watch in adoration as the woman before her digests the news they just received. They've both been waiting for this. Ever since their awkward talk about not using protection after their first date, a more serious talk happened. It was then that she told him she wanted at least one child. She knew it will be hard for her to even conceive, so one child would be a miracle. Then he told her that he wanted nothing more than to add to their family and to be a father to her child. It was then that they decided to start trying. Of course, it wasn't all happy rainbows and fluffy unicorns.

There were times that she actually thought she was pregnant. She was sure she had all the symptoms, but then the pregnancy tests would all come back negative. She was heartbroken every time, and Hotch was heartbroken for her. Then there was the time that Hotch brought her to the ER. She said she was feeling intense cramps and was bleeding more than her normal period. That's when they found out Emily had an early miscarriage. Again, they were devastated. During the day, she was the calm and collected Emily Prentiss, but at night, she cries herself to sleep – she cried for the child she didn't even know she had. Hotch would hold her, told her that they can keep on trying, that maybe that one was just not for them, that maybe after a year they could try other options.

But now they're here, and it's real.

Hotch sat on the edge of the bed facing Emily. He put his hand over hers on her stomach. "Oh Aaron, we're having a baby!" She cried.

"We are." He pulled her into his arms. "We definitely are, my love."

"I'm so happy – so, so happy!" She when she pulled back. "Oh my god, we're having a baby!" She cried and laughed at the same time.

Hotch pulled her in for a sweet kiss. "I love you, sweetheart." He whispered to her when he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you too."

They waited 10 more minutes before the OB met with them for the ultrasound. Emily winced as the cold gel was put on her stomach. Hotch gently squeezed her hand in support.

"Alright. You guys ready?" The doctor asked and they both nodded at her.

"You see this little bean right here?" She pointed on the monitor. "That's your baby."

"Wow." Emily whispered in awe as she looked at the screen.

"Our baby" Hotch whispered against her temple before giving it a light kiss.

"You are 5 weeks pregnant, Agent Prentiss. Everything seems to be in order as of the moment despite your little scare earlier." The doctor as she was finishing up her scan. "The fetus is in the right size and is placed well." She clicked something in the machine and gave Emily a towel to clean up the gel in her stomach.

"Did you not have any symptoms at all?" The doctor asked.

That was when Emily realized that all this time, she's had them – the nausea, the light-headed days, the emotional rollercoaster.

"I think I did. I just kind of ignored them. I actually thought I was sick." She quietly.

The doctor gave her a look and Hotch was there to explain. "We've been trying for quite a while and there have been lots of heartbreaks over the past year. She actually had an early miscarriage 5 months ago."

"I see." Then she scribbling some more. "Now, I suppose you should not ignore them. Here are some vitamins that you should take to keep your iron levels and blood pressure at best. The other pill is for when the sickness gets too much." She said, handing Emily the prescription.

"Thank you."

"Now, when you get back home, set an appointment with your OB and give this to her." She said, handing her another paper. "That's my findings and recommendations from today. Give her that and the prescriptions too. She knows your record better, so maybe she'd want to change some of the pills, but for now, take those ones."

"Will do. Thanks again."

"Now, just a reminder, given your age and medical history, this could be a very delicate pregnancy, Agent. I assure you the baby is fine today, but no doctor can give the same assurance in the coming months. It is very important for you to stay healthy and if possible, stay away from anything that can trigger stress. Your doctor should be able to give you proper instructions and precautions for the long term. As of right now, stay indoors and stay out of the field."

Emily sighed and nodded.

"Congratulations to the both of you." She said, then handing them pictures of the ultrasound.

Hotch and Emily walked out of the hospital hand in hand. The ultrasound pictures safely tucked in the pocket of Hotch's suit jacket.

"Can I go back to the precinct with you?" She asked quietly once they were in the car, biting her bottom lip nervously.

Hotch immediately noticed her nervous tick and his face softened. His overprotective streak wanted to bring her back to the hotel but the _Aaron_ in him says to keep her close to him.

"Okay. But you'll stay there, alright? You heard the doctor, you should stay indoors. So, no more interviews, no interrogations, no site visits, no takedowns."

"I know. I know. I just – I'd feel more comfortable when I'm with someone, and not alone in a strange hotel."

 _Me too_ , he thought.

"Aaron?" Emily called out again after some time.

"Yes, sweetheart?" He answered, eyes focused on parking SUV. The hospital was not that far from the precinct.

"What do we tell them?" She asked, referring to the team.

Hotch put the SUV in parked before turning to face Emily. "You don't have to tell them now if you don't want to." Emily considered this for a bit.

"But do you want to tell them now?"

"Honestly, I'd like to wait a little longer. I'd like for us to enjoy this first, let it all sink in, before we tell them.

Emily nodded. "Okay."

"But sweetheart, if you want to, then you can. You don't have to keep it from them just because I said so."

Emily shook her head. "It's not that. Of course I know I have the option, but, honestly, I didn't really know what to do. That's why I asked you. And really, I like your idea better. It makes more sense."

"Alright." Hotch agreed. Emily was already removing her seatbelt and was about to open the door before Hotch stopped her.

"Hey." He said softly, holding her hand in his. "Promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Promise me, that if it gets dangerous out there in the field and I ask you to stay away, promise me that you won't fight me on it."

When Emily did not answer and just looked at him, he explained further. "It's just that… I've been too close to losing you _too many times_. And now that there's so much more at risk, I just…" He shook his head, frustrated that he was lost for words.

But Emily understood. She always did. That was one of her magic- she always understood him, even without the words.

"I understand." She said softly. "And I promise. I promise not to fight you on it. I promise to tell you whenever I feel sick or tired. I promise to tell you if there's something wrong. And most of all, I promise to tell you when you've gone overboard and have crossed the line. Can you promise me that you will listen when I do?"

He smiled. "Of course, sweetheart. I promise."

"There is one thing I can't promise though."

"What's that?"

"That I'd have full control of my emotions." She plainly said.

Hotch chuckled. "That's alright, sweetheart. I understand. You ready?"

"Yup. Let's finish this case."

/

14 hours later, the team caught a break in the case and was finally able to identify their unsub. Once Garcia was able to give them a location, the team dispersed, leaving Emily and JJ behind at the precinct. JJ didn't have to stay behind, but when she found out that Emily had to, she secretly pulled Hotch aside and asked if she could stay with her. Hotch gladly agreed and was beyond relieved that Emily didn't have to wait alone.

"I hope they're okay." Emily wondered loudly as they wait for news.

"Em, they've done this a million times. They'll be fine."

"We don't know that! This unsub is meticulous. For all we know, he could've set up traps in that house."

JJ reached for Emily's hand to calm her from her slight but sudden outburst. "Hey." She said softly.

Emily sighed. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just worried."

"I know, and that's okay. But, part of not being out there is trusting them. We have to trust that they'd resolve the case with very minimum to no casualties. Is there any assurance that they won't get hurt? No. But that's part of the job, remember?"

"Yeah."

"Everything okay with you?" JJ had to ask again. Now, she was surely glad that she stayed with her.

"Yes. I promise everything's okay. I was feeling sick the past few days and the heat just aggravated it. But I'm okay."

"Alright.

/

Emily and JJ waited almost an hour for news. They were practically falling asleep. They both suddenly jumped when JJ's phone rang.

"Hey Rossi."

"We got him."

She sighed in relief. "Oh good."

"You both need to get to the hospital though."

JJ's eyes widened in surprised and Emily noticed it. She was alarmed. Something must have happened. "What?!" Why? What happened?"

"Hotch was shot in the arm. He's okay, don't worry. He's conscious. The medic said it was a deep graze, so he might need stitches. So you need both need to be there while we finish up here."

"Of course. We'll be there. Send me the address. Rossi, are you sure he's okay?"

"Yes. He even put up a fight with the medic, saying he just needed to bandage it up. So I'm sure he's okay."

"Alright. Thanks, Rossi."

JJ just ended the call when she was plagued with questions by Emily.

"What is it? What happened? Is someone hurt? JJ!" Emily exclaimed, desperate for answer but she didn't even give JJ a chance to answer.

JJ held Emily by the shoulder. She needed to stay calm when she tells Emily the news. "We need to go the hospital."

"Why? Is it Hotch?"

"Yes." She heard Emily gasped. "But, Rossi said it wasn't so bad. The medic said it was a deep graze on his arm, so they took him in to see if he needed stitches. He was even arguing with the medic. He'll be fine, alright?"

"I-I need to see him."

"Of course. Let's go."

Hotch was brought to the same hospital that Emily was brought into earlier, so the drive was not long. Once they've identified themselves at the reception desk, they were told to wait at the ER waiting area since Hotch was currently getting his stitches. The rest of the team arrived and waited with them not long after.

Finally, almost an hour later, a doctor came in. "Agent Hotchner is ready to see you now. Like what the medic has said, the bullet graze into his arm, but it was deep enough to warrant stitches. We're just waiting for the discharge papers then he can go."

"Thank you." Rossi said.

The doctor left and Rossi nodded to Emily. "Go and see him. We'll have to wrap everything up at the station anyway. I'm pretty sure every one of us wants to head home."

"Okay." She whispered.

"Here." JJ handed the SUV keys to Emily. "I'll ride with them. We'll see you at the hotel, okay?"

"Yeah. Thank you." Emily said quietly, then walked away to see Hotch.

Emily quietly walked the alley of the ER, subtly glancing behind every curtain to find him. Finally, she did.

She just stood there for a while, observing him. He was sitting on the bed, feet dangling. He's only wearing his undershirt now, probably disposed of the bloody dress shirt. His left arm heavily bandaged.

"Hey." He said quietly, nodding for her to come closer.

"Hey yourself." She sulked as she walked towards him, finally standing in between his legs.

He smiled at her. "I'm okay, love. Aaron Hotchner could not be taken down by a simple bullet graze."

She hit his chest lightly. "Stop it. I'm your girlfriend. I get to worry and be scared." She said, unable to stop the tears from pooling in her eyes.

"Oh sweetheart." Hotch wrapped Emily in a hug with his good arm. The other one was still sore. He kissed her forehead as he felt her circle her arms around his torso. "I'm so sorry. I was careful, I promise. The unsub just put up quite a fight. I mean, Reid almost took a bullet to head for god's sake. Good thing he had a shitty aim. I'm sorry. Please, please, calm down now." He softly whispered that last sentence to her, remembering what the doctor had said about Emily having to avoid stress triggers.

Emily nodded against the crook of his neck. "I'm trying." She said and took a deep breath.

"Hey." He lifted her chin up so she could look at him. "I love you."

She gave him a quick kiss. "I love you too.

"So, you ready to go home, _mommy?"_ He emphasized that last word by placing his hand on her stomach.

Emily face suddenly lightened up. She nodded with a smile and placed her hand on top of his.

Yes, she is scared for what's to come, this pregnancy could be risky. But she'll do anything for the baby to survive, and with Hotch right by her side, she has no doubt that she and baby could get through anything.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Hey guys! So here is the second to the last chapter. It was originally going to be the last chapter but it was too long so I just decided to divide it. Hope you like it. xx**

 _Emily woke up only to feel her hands and feet were bound. She was somehow strapped on a bed. Panic immediately set in – she was just sleeping beside Aaron moments ago, wasn't she? She looked around and noticed that this was a different place, a different room._

 _"_ _Aaron! Aaron! Somebody!" She screamed but no one answered. She tried pulling the ropes off but it only hurt her._

 _"_ _Please help me!" She cried. Suddenly, the door opened then slammed close again. She turned to her side to see a person wearing a mask walking towards. More rush of panic overcame her when she saw what was in his hands._

 _"_ _Who are you?"_

 _The man laughed and pulled his mask off. "Hello, Emily." Peters._

 _"_ _No. No no no. This is not real." She closed her eyes and shook her head, as if trying to get herself out of this dream. "You're locked up."_

 _"_ _Oh but it is. And today, I get to finish what I started." He said, raising the long sharp knife in front of her face. "Now, Emily. I believe you were expecting a baby…"_

 _"_ _Please! Not my baby!" She cried._

 _"_ _Too late. No one can save you now."_

 _Peters plunged the knife in her stomach. "NO!"_

"No!" She cried, bolting right up on the bed.

"Emily!" Hotch has been trying wake her, but it was no use. He woke up to her crying and pleading, and immediately he knew it was bad.

He held both her shoulders and made her turn to him. "Emily, look at me." But she couldn't seem to snap out of it. She was hysterical, her eyes roaming the room, taking heaving breaths.

"Sweetheart, it's me – Aaron." He said softly, cupping her cheek with one hand and lightly stroking his thumb on her cheek.

Finally, her eyes landed on his. "Aaron?"

"Yeah. You were dreaming, love."

"Aaron!" She hugged him tightly, as if clinging for her life. "He-he killed my baby. Peters ki-killed my baby! He had a knife and he stabbed me!" She sobbed on his shoulders.

"Shhh. Sweetheart, it was all a dream. Baby's still right here. See?" He said, taking her hand and placing it together with his on her stomach. "Baby is growing and healthy."

This did not seem to soothe Emily though. He could tell she was hyperventilating.

So he pulled back a little. "Emily, you need to calm down, honey." He was starting to worry. "Slow deep breaths. C'mon, Em."

He started rubbing her back soothingly. "You're okay, sweetheart. Everything's okay." He pulled her back against him, hoping that Emily would somehow match his breathing.

Hotch held Emily against him, rubbing her back soothing and whispering soothing words. He doesn't want to do it, but if Emily continues to hyperventilate and does not calm down anytime soon, they might have to take a drive to the ER. Call it over-reacting, but he just wants to be on the safe side. Emily's pregnancy is high-risk, as confirmed by her personal doctor during her first appointment after the Florida case where she found out she was pregnant. Seeing Emily in distress now, he was certain that it is putting the baby in distress too.

Fortunately, Emily started calming down. "There you go. Slow, deep breaths."

"Just like that. You're okay, Em. And baby's okay."

Few more minutes and a glass of cold water later, they were back cuddled in bed. Hotch honestly thought an ER visit was necessary, but he knew this could freak out Emily more. So as long as she's not complaining any pain, lightheadedness, or any symptom, he'd have to settle with getting her back to bed and back to sleep.

"You feel a little better?" He asked softly, murmuring into her hair.

She nodded and cuddled further into him, her hand tightly fisted his shirt. "I thought the nightmares about him were gone." She sounded so broken.

Hotch kissed her forehead. "Maybe just the general idea of seeing him again stresses you out, thus triggering the nightmare. Do you still want to give a statement tomorrow?"

It was a logical question. Emily has recovered well, and that includes the nightmares. She still sees her therapist at least thrice a month, saying that it helps her deal with work and her nightmares better. Of course, Hotch supported her. He could definitely see that Emily is happier now and able to deal with things better. When she first came back to field work, she would have several panic attacks, and so he and even the team were glad that those were gone.

Though nightmares were unavoidable in their line of work, she's never had one about Peters in so long. So by logic, Hotch thought that maybe Emily stressing about the sentencing, giving a statement, and basically just being with the room as the man who violated triggered such nightmare.

"Yes." She said quietly but firmly. "You'll be there, right?"

"Of course, love. And remember, the rest of the team said they'll be there too."

"Yeah."

"If you ever change your mind though, even at the last minute, just tell me and I'll get you out of there."

"-'kay" With this reply, he knew she was starting to fall back to sleep.

"And then we also have team dinner tomorrow night at Dave's. You still up for that?"

"Yup."

"Okay. We do really need to sleep though. We have to be up early tomorrow."

Emily was still mumbling softly about what she wanted for a nursery and Hotch just listened and hummed his agreement. The next thing he knew she was finally asleep, much to his relief. They had to be in court by 10am tomorrow and it was currently 2am. The drive won't be that long, but he didn't want Emily to be too tired. Sleep was very important, and since she's starting her second trimester, she's been getting tired a little more than usual.

He kissed her forehead again. "Sleep tight, sweetheart." Hopefully, no nightmares would plague that rest of their night.

/

Emily was a shaking, crying mess in the court room. She was the last to give a statement. Before her, relatives of the other victims have spoken, including the very brave 9-year old Emma Kelly, daughter of Marissa Kelly, she was a lawyer and the third victim. Everyone in the room was left in tears after Emma's statement. Emily noticed that even Hotch was in tears, but who wouldn't be?

Then it was Emily's turn. She clutched the paper in her hand tightly as she walked to the podium. She took a deep breath and looked at Hotch. He gave her a short nod, and that was all she needed.

 _"_ _I'm Agent Emily Prentiss from the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, and I was a victim of Jeremy Peters. Our team were working on the murders of the four other victims then. He lured me to come to him, threatening to hurt my family. He kept me in a freezer, tortured me, violated me, all while livestreaming it to my team. I was also a victim of him once before. He attempted to rape me during our college days, but politics played a big role in that and against my will, a compromise was entered into. But no compromise will ever happen now. No. No more family connections, no more politics._

 _It has been a tough road to recovery, and I still am recovering. Every single day I ask myself why do I get to live and the others don't? I was the one he wanted to kill in the first place. But then I realized, the aftermath of the incident was a nightmare in itself, and living inside it is not living at all._

 _To the families of Anna Marshall, Tessa Johnson, Marissa Kelly, and Jane Dawson, I have no other words but I'm sorry. Though I know that will never be enough. I'm sorry that they were taken away from you – their lives taken as collateral, just so he could get to me. There is not a day that I don't grieve their loss._

 _Your honor, I stand here before you because Anna, Tessa, Marissa, and Jane can't, and I am asking for your consideration to impose the maximum penalty and sentence possible, within the bounds of the law. I have encountered many men like Peters in my line of work, and the one thing that they all have in common is that they are not capable of remorse and reform. Thank you."_

Emily unsteadily walked back to her seat beside Hotch, wiping away her tears and Hotch holding her hand tightly in subtle comfort. A few moments later, the sentence was read to Peters and the public Emily actually gave a sigh of relief after hearing that he will get a life sentence in maximum security prison without parole. In the background, she could hear a lot of crying, and someone screaming, which she undoubtingly knew was Peters' mother. She couldn't help but fall into Hotch's arms and cry out in relief, because right at this moment, she could finally feel that she was actually set free.

"Shhh. It's all over now. I'm so proud of you." Hotch quietly whispered to her, still holding her tight in his arms.

They were finally out of the court room, the team was waiting in the hallway for Emily who had gone to the restroom to compose herself. When she walked back to them, she was feeling so much better and even gave out a little smile at them.

"We can reschedule the dinner, you know. This must have been exhausting for you." Dave offered.

"Yeah, Em. Maybe you should just take the day." Garcia added.

But Emily shook her head. "No. I'm fine guys, really. And after what happened in there, I really need something… something good to take from this day. So please let's not reschedule it?" She said, giving Dave her best puppy-eyed look.

He couldn't help but smile at her. Definitely the stubborn one, this Emily. "Alright. If that's what you want. So, everyone still in tonight, right?" He asked and everyone nodded at him. The group made their way to the elevators, with Hotch and Emily trailing behind them.

Suddenly, a small voice called her. "Agent Prentiss?" Emily, and even the rest of the team, turned to see who it was. They couldn't help but smile at the little girl, who just earlier broke down in tears in the court room.

Emily walked up to the little girl and knelt in front of her so she could see her face clearly. "Hi." She said quietly.

"I made this for you." The girl whispered, timidly handing Emily a paper. She unfolded the paper and couldn't help the tears forming in her eyes. It was a drawing of a woman in a superhero costume, with the letters above spelling _Super_ _Agent Prentiss_ , and in smaller letters below it says _world protector._

"Daddy said your job is to protect people and put the monsters away. That makes you a superhero. And when I grow up, I want to be just like you. I want to help others and make the monsters go away too." The little girl said.

 _I'm sorry I couldn't protect your mother._ Emily thought to herself. But she shook the thought away. Giving the girl a tearful smile she said, "This is one of the best gifts that I've ever gotten. Thank you, Emma." She was surprised thought when Emma pulled her in for hug.

"And you know what? My superhero power reads into the future and it is telling me that you will be a superhero, but even better than me." She said, making the girl giggle. "Emma, you are so brave and fearless. You can be whatever you want to be. You will the change the world and your mommy is so so proud of you. I know she is."

"Thank you." The girl said shyly, clinging to her father again.

Emily stood up. "Mr. Kelly."

"Agent Prentiss."

"I'm-"

"No. It's not your fault. It was him." He said to her firmly.

"He's right, Agent." Emily was surprised to see the relatives of the other victims approaching them – Anna Marshall's husband and mother, Tessa Johnson's parents, and Jane Dawson's parents and siblings. The one who spoke up was Tessa's mother.

The older woman took a step closer and held her hand. "Emily," she said softly. "We don't blame you, we never did. You were also a victim just like our girls. I know I can't speak for everyone here, but if there's anything good that came out of this whole ordeal, it's that there is one survivor who keeps showing the world that there is still good in it despite of all the bad that has happened, that no matter what you went through, you can still come out of the rubble, stronger and better."

Now she was really crying. How could they have so much faith in her? How could they have forgiven her after losing a child, a mother, a wife, a sister, because of her?

"But Emily, you have to forgive yourself too, honey." The older woman said. Emily's eyes widened in shock. _Is she a mind-reader or something?_

Emily nodded at them, a tearful smile on her face. "Thank you – all of you."

"And thank you, to you and your team, for putting that monster away, and for all you do." Anna Marshall's husband said.

/

The ride home was filled with silence, and Hotch was slightly concerned. He kept glancing at her throughout the drive but all she did was cross her arms over her stomach and look out the window. Up until they entered their home, Emily has not said a word.

"Hey guys! We're home!" He exclaimed.

"Daddy! Emmy!" Jack said, running up to them.

"Hi, buddy!"

"Daddy, do you and Emmy want to watch the movie with us? Maya picked Narnia!" Jack said excitedly.

Hotch turned to look at Emily. He knew she'd want some time alone, and she looked awfully tired. Maybe a nap would be better.

Emily smiled warmly at him. "I'm sorry, Jack. I don't think I can join you right now. I've had quite a rough morning and I think I should lie down for a little while. Is that okay?"

Jack looked at her with serious concern and Emily had to hold back a laugh because he looked so much like Hotch. "That's okay. But are you sick?"

"No, honey. I'm not sick. It was just really a tough morning, alright? I promise I'll feel better after a while, and later, we'll go to Uncle Dave's house for dinner."

The idea of dinner at Uncle Dave's house seemed to ease his concern. "Okay." He gave Emily a quick hug. "I hope you feel better, Emmy." He said, before heading back to join his sister for the movie.

Hotch turned his attention back to Emily, who physically looked awfully tired. "Go on up, I'll join you in a minute." With that, she made her way upstairs while Hotch made his to the kitchen where his mother was making lunch.

"Hi, mom!" He greeted, giving her a quick hug.

"Hey you! Where's Emily?"

"I sent her upstairs. She's exhausted."

"Aaron, be honest – how did it go?"

Hotch leaned on the counter and sighed. "Well, he got exactly what we were expecting and been praying for, but I know it will never be enough, especially to Emily and to the families of the other women."

"How's Emily?"

"I honestly don't know." He sighed. "She's been having nightmares about him for a few nights leading to this, and I think it's all because of the stress of this day. I hope now that it's all over, she could at least be free of those. This morning was emotionally exhausting for her, but she's so brave, mom. I could feel her fear of just being in the same room with him, but she still pushed through. I honestly do not know how she does it."

"And how are you holding up? You've been so patient and understanding and so loving, but Aaron, you never really talked to anyone about what you feel – what you've been through."

He understood where this concern was coming from, she's his mother after all. But this wasn't about him. "I'm okay, mom. She's here and alive, and you and the kids are here – that's all that matters to me."

Sharp shook her head. She knew this is exactly the response she would get, so she just let the topic go for now. "If that's what you say. You guys up for lunch? It's almost done."

"I doubt Emily's feeling up for it, but she needs to eat. Is it okay if I just bring it upstairs?"

"Of course, sweetie. Make sure you take some for you too. Don't worry about the kids, it's a long movie so they'll be occupied for a while. I'll hold the fort down here."

"Thanks, mom."

/

Hotch went inside the room to see the bed empty. But he sighed in relief when he saw the balcony door open. So he put the food tray down and went to her.

"Hey." He quietly said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against his side.

"Hi." She leaned into him gratefully.

"Talk to me, Em." He pulled her tighter against him, wrapping both arms around her securely and kissing the top of her head.

Emily shook her head and buried her face further into his chest. She was silent for a while, but Hotch knew the moment she started to cry. He could hear her quiet sobs.

"I'm feeling everything all at the same time and I don't like it." She said with a whiny tone in her voice.

He understood why. Emily has the ability to decipher her feelings very well. She knows when to confront it, deal with it, show it, and she knows when to put it inside a box, lock it away and move on. If there's one thing that ultimately annoys her, it's this right here – feeling mixed emotions. She doesn't know what to show, deal, or confront. It's like she wants to do everything all at once but she can't. Hotch knew that talking won't do any good for now, so he let her cry.

After a while, she finally calmed down. He took the opportunity to offer the food he brought. "I've brought some lunch. It's probably a little cold now but it's better than nothing."

Seeing that she was about to protest, he added, "Sweetheart, you need to eat – for you and the baby. Please? Even just a little?"

Finally, she nodded. "Okay." He knew the _baby card_ always worked – both ways that is.

After eating their lunch, Emily settled in bed with a movie on TV while she waited for Hotch who returned their dishes downstairs.

He had manage to wash their dishes quickly, and return back to Emily with another bottle of water for her vitamins. But he sighed when he entered their room and saw she had already fallen asleep. He really hated to wake her but she needed to take her pills. He quickly changed his clothes before joining her in bed.

"Em, sweetheart." He shook her gently. "I need you to wake up for a bit, love."

Emily grunted in annoyance. She was already having a very nice dream. "Wha-?"

"Here." He handed her the vitamins and then the water. "I'm sorry but you needed to take those."

"It's okay. Thank you."

Once they were finally cuddled up in bed, and just when Hotch thought she was asleep again, she murmured, "Let's buy a house."

He quickly looked down at her and laughed. "Sweetheart, you're literally falling asleep. You really want to have this conversation right now?"

"Mhmm. I was having a very nice dream before you woke. We were in a huge house, it had a nice spacious backyard. The kids were running there, laughing. I saw you and me just watching them."

"Did you see if we were having a boy or a girl?"

"A girl." She whispered.

He couldn't help but smile. He secretly wanted another girl – he wanted a little Emily to look after.

"So, a house?" Emily coaxed the topic again.

"You're not letting this go right now, are you?"

"Nope."

He laughed at her then. Emily was always so determined when she wanted something. "Okay. We'll start looking this weekend. Is that alright with you?"

"Yup. Love you." _Finally._ Finally he could her eyes closing again, and he couldn't help but laugh at her. He made a mental note to revisit this topic with her, preferably before the weekend and preferably when she's fully awake and productive.

"I love you too. " He kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep now."

 _A house. A big house, with Emily and his three kids and his mother (if she wanted to). A family home._ Yeah, he definitely wanted that too.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Here's the final chapter! Thank you guys for supporting my very first CM fanfic and for sticking with me 'til the end. You guys are awesome!**

"Are you ready?" Hotch asked her quietly as she finished getting ready. Tonight was not just another team dinner, it's also the night they'll tell his mom, the kids, and the team, that they're expecting. And Emily's nerves have been on edge all day.

"I don't think it matters if I'm ready or not." She snapped at him.

Hotch approached her then. He knew she didn't mean to snap at him. He took her elbow, immediately stopping her from checking things on her purse and turned her to him. "Hey, you don't have to do this if you're not ready." He said gently. He knew better than to pick a fight with a pregnant

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm her nerves. "I'm sorry. I'm just-"

"It's okay, love." He hugged her closely.

Emily took one more deep breath and nodded. "Alright, let's do this."

/

"Right. You two are scaring me. Just spill it out." Sharp said. She was waiting in the living room with the kids when Hotch called her to the kitchen. When she got there, she saw Emily and Hotch standing side by side with serious faces.

Then, Emily and Hotch smiled at each other before he pulled her against his side. "We're having a baby." Emily said in a happy yet teary voice.

Sharp's jaw dropped. _They're having a baby! She's having another grandchild. Thank the heavens and anyone up there who's listening._ "Really?! You're not kidding?!"

"Really, mom. We're not kidding." Hotch answered her.

"Aahh! Oh my gosh, you two!" She suddenly hugged both of them. "Congratulations!" She said as they pulled back.

"How far along are you?"

"15 weeks."

"Oh honey. Come here." She pulled Emily for another hug that the younger woman gladly accepted. "Are you okay? Everything's going good?"

Sharp saw the hesitation on their faces and she instantly knew.

"The doctor said it's high-risk, due to her age and mostly her medical history. We're taking every precaution we could. Right now, aside from the unusual tiredness and the sickness that she still gets, everything's good. She and the baby are healthy." Hotch answered.

"But what about your work? I mean, it's not the most stress-free job."

Hotch looked at Emily, indicating that she should answer the question. He did not want to assume anything, because at the end of the day, it's her body and she knows it better, so it's her choice.

"Right now, I still get to travel with them, but I'd opt to stay the station and do the boring the stuff. But we play it by ear, really. If I feel uneasy or that something might be happening, I won't travel."

"Alright. And this man taking care of you?" She asked, teasing her son.

"He's been nothing but annoying." Emily playfully rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" He protested.

"Of course, I'm kidding, honey." She gave him quick kiss. She turned back to Sharp and said, "He's amazing and so helpful and _so very patient._ "

"Good. That's good. If he ever gives you any trouble, just tell me, alright?" Sharp said, to which Emily nodded.

"Okay. You're ganging up on me now." Hotch said.

"Oh stop it, Aaron. We love you. Do the kids know?" She asked.

"Not yet. You're the first to know, but we're about to tell them now too."

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" She said, motioning for them to head to the living room.

/

"What's the family meeting for?" Maya asked as the adults gathered in the living room with them. She and Jack were sat on the couch between Hotch and Emily.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" Jack said defensively. In his young mind, family meetings meant that someone was in trouble and that someone was usually him.

The adults laughed at him and the terrified look on his face. "No one's in trouble, Jack." Emily said.

"Oh."

"We actually want to tell guys something."Hotch said with a smile on his face.

"What is it?" Jack asked, sensing that something important was happening. Maybe they're finally getting a puppy. He's been asking his dad and Emily, and even his grandma, for one since last year and they always say the same thing, _I don't think so, buddy._

"Well, I'm pregnant."

"What's that mean?" The confused little boy asked.

Hotch and Emily had to giggle at his response. "That means Emily and I are having a baby, and you're going to be a big brother, and Maya's going to be a big sister again."

Jack's face immediately lightened up. "Really?!" Then he was jumping for joy! "I'm going to be a big brother! This is even better than a puppy!"

Again, the adult couldn't help but laugh at his response. "Well, I'm glad to hear that, buddy." Hotch said.

"Where is the baby? Can we see it now?" He asked Emily.

"Not yet." Emily said calmly and took his hand to place it on her stomach. "The baby is growing in here. He or she needs to grow a certain size and be healthy before we can meet him or her."

"For how long?" Suddenly, the idea of waiting killed his excitement a little.

"About 5 more months."

"That's a long time!" He pouted.

"It is. But you won't even notice it, and before you know it, baby's here. Besides, there's still a lot to do before the baby comes, so having time is good."

"I guess." He conceded. "I'm still excited though." He grinned.

"Good to know." Hotch smiled at his excited son, and then to Emily, whom he noticed was glancing at Maya. He then realized that they've never heard a single word from her. "Maya, are you okay?"

"Yeah." She said and plastered a smile. "Congrats dad and Emmy." But they were not convinced, especially Emily, and she suddenly wished they didn't have to go to dinner tonight.

"Can we go now?" Maya asked, already standing up and grabbing her jacket. "I'm really hungry."

Hotch and Emily looked at each other. "Yeah. We can go. We're running late anyway." Emily said.

They headed for the door, Hotch and Emily being the last ones. Hotch could sense that Emily was bothered, and to be honest, he was too. "It'll be okay." He whispered to her. _It had to be._

/

Dinner was a happier affair. Emily tried to elude the wine Garcia has been offering, saying that she hasn't been feeling the past few days. To her relief, Garcia seemed to accept her excuse. However, when Rossi proposed a toast at the dinner table, Garcia handed her a glass of wine again, saying one sip won't hurt. _But it will_ , she thought.

Seeing the conflict in Emily's face, and the expectant look on the team's faces, Hotch decided to take charge of the situation.

He cleared his throat and stood up. "If you don't mind, Dave. We would like to say something before the toast."

Dave nodded and sat back down. "Go ahead." He smiled.

Hotch offered his hand for Emily, which she gladly took before standing up beside him.

"Is everything okay?" Morgan asked when the two were quiet for a while.

"Everything's fine." Hotch assured them with a small smile. Then he turned to Emily and gave her a nod. She looked nervous so he held her hand in a tight squeeze.

Emily took a deep breath and looked at the expecting faces of their team. "I- I'm pregnant."

The team was silent. _Oh no._ Emily thought. That's until a certain Penelope Garcia pushed her chair back and ran over to her, hugging her so tight. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Em!" She squealed.

"Too tight, Garcia." Emily laughed and Garcia immediately pulled back, still holding her shoulders.

"I'm so happy for you guys, you have no idea! Oh my gosh! This is like the best thing. This is going to be the most adorable baby! Congratulations, Em, Boss man."

Then the rest of the team got their turn congratulating them, giving their hugs and well wishes. When it was JJ's turn, she gave Hotch a nice congratulatory hug before pulling Emily aside.

"Em! Congratulations!" She hugged her best friend.

"I still can't believe it."

JJ pulled back and held both of Emily's hands, lightly shaking them. "It's real, Em! You're going to be a mom!" Both women had tears in their eyes. "Well, you already are a mom to Maya and Jack, but still…"

"I know. I know. But the risks are… astronomically high. There are a lot of possible complications-"

"Hey! Stop, Em. Listen to me. You're going to carry this baby to full term. I know you and, especially Hotch, will do everything to make sure you and baby are both safe. And we're here – I'm here – okay? Everything will be okay."

"Okay." Emily nodded and pulled JJ for another hug. "Thank you."

"Take care of yourself, alright? Put your _stubborn patient_ reputation on the side for a while." She teased.

"Yeah." Emily laughed.

/

"I think I should go talk to Maya." Emily suggested once they were back in their home. "She's probably still awake." Jack passed out on their drive home and was carried to bed by Aaron, while Sharp was already back at her apartment. Emily and Hotch, on the other hand, were finishing their own night routines.

"I think we both need to." Hotch said.

"But can I go in first?"

"Of course, love."

With that, Emily headed to Maya's bedroom. The light was still on so she knew the girl was still awake, which isn't a surprise. The kids get to have later bedtimes during summer. So she proceeded to knock on the slightly ajar door.

"May I come in?" She asked as she peeked her head in. At Maya's nod, she came in and sat on the bed facing the little girl.

There was silence which was making Maya so uncomfortable. So she spoke first. "I'm sorry." She looked down, hands fidgeting with the hem of the blanket.

"What for, sweetie?"

"I don't know." She sighed and shook her head. "For reacting so badly, I guess."

"And why did you think you reacted that way?" Emily asked softly.

"I don't know." She whispered. "I guess- I guess I got scared… and jealous. I'm sorry! I know it's selfish, but I couldn't help it. I'm just… I'm just sorry, okay?"

"What are you scared of, honey?" Emily asked.

Maya looked away. "I'm nobody's child." She whispered.

Emily's heart instantly broke for the tween. Maya is at a stage in her life where she's only starting to really understand who she is, only starting to identify herself and come out of her shell. Emily understood that being burdened by the sudden news of an addition to the family would make her feel unsure and insecure – like she does not know where she suddenly stands or like she's being replaced. Now, the challenge for both Hotch and Emily is to make her understand and make her feel that she's not being replaced, that she's right where she belongs.

"You are my child." Emily said with so much conviction that made Maya look at her.

"And you are my child." Hotch said as he walk in, making Maya and Emily turn to look at him. He sat beside Maya on the bed, hugging her closely.

"Maya, family does not only mean blood relations. You may not have come from me physically, but you came from my heart. I'm pretty sure that doesn't make sense to you, but it does to me. From day one, I've already felt like you are my child and I love you like one. I know that this news has been a surprise to you, and we understand why you're feeling like that. An addition to the family does not mean you're being replaced, honey. You're right where you belong."

Maya did not know what to say. She genuinely felt bad for the way she reacted, and she felt bad that she hurt Emily and her dad, but she couldn't help it. But know that she's put some thought on it, having another sibling wouldn't be so bad, and it makes her parents happy. _Her parents._ Yeah, definitely.

"I'm sorry!" She said to Emily as hugged her.

"Nothing to apologize for, love. Everything's okay." Emily said reassuringly.

"I'm sorry, dad!" The young girl said, giving her father a hug.

"No worries, darling. Nothing to apologize for. You're my first child, and you're a Hotchner, remember that." He said.

/

"You're amazing, you know?" Hotch said to Emily as they walk back to their room.

"Yeah, I kind of already knew that." She teased which earned her a smirk from him.

"Hey, I know you're tired, but I still have one more thing to ask you." He said nervously, which didn't go unnoticed from a profiler like Emily.

"What's that?"

"Let's go to the balcony." He said, pulling her hand.

Once there, they stood quietly for a while. Silently taking the breathtaking view of the DC skyline.

"So, what were you going to ask me? And why are you so nervous? You're making _me_ nervous." She rambled.

 _It's now or never._ Hotch took a deep breath, turned to look at her and pulled her closer to him. "I was… I'm sorry. I was planning on something romantic and beautiful because you deserve nothing but best, but when I saw how amazing you were in there with Maya, I felt like this was the right moment. You amaze me every day, Emily Prentiss, and I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you." Suddenly he got down on one knee and pulled out a tiny with a ring on it. "Will marry me?"

"Aaron…" She whispered, eyes wide in disbelief. "Yes! Yes, of course, I'll marry you, honey!" She answered, the tears in her eyes finally falling.

Hotch gave out a sigh of relief. Finally, he stood up and put the ring on her finger. "Perfect." He whispered.

"I love you." Emily said.

"I love you too, sweetheart." He whispered to as he pulled her closer and gave her the most breath-taking kiss.

Four years ago, if someone said to Emily Prentiss that she would be settling down and having a family in the near future, she would've said _hell no._ But things change, and this is definitely a very welcomed change for Emily. Starting a family of her own, having kids, being a wife, are all new to her. It's scary, but it's exciting. She used to tell herself that something seems to be missing in her life, an amazing career as an FBI agent never seemed enough. But thanks to a certain Aaron Hotchner, she's never felt more loved, and she finally realized what she's been missing all along – a family.


End file.
